Virginia Peppergrass
Lepidium virginicum
Native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- 6 inches–2 feet
- Light
- Sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual or biennial
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 60 Arkansas counties.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 91 animals.
- Common NighthawkChordeiles minor
- Common YellowthroatGeothlypis trichas
- Cooper's HawkAccipiter cooperii
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Double-crested CormorantPhalacrocorax auritus
- Downy WoodpeckerPicoides pubescens
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eurasian Collared-doveStreptopelia decaocto
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Forster's TernSterna forsteri
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Blue HeronArdea herodias
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Great EgretArdea alba
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Great-tailed GrackleQuiscalus mexicanus
- Green HeronButorides virescens
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Harris's SparrowZonotrichia querula
- Hermit ThrushCatharus guttatus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Indigo BuntingPasserina cyanea
Who uses this plant?
10CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Lepidium
- Anthocharis mideaFalcate Orangetip
- Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
- Euchloe olympiaOlympia Marble, Rosy Marble
- Eustixia pupulaSpotted Peppergrass Moth
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Hellula rogatalisCabbage Webworm
- Plutella porrectellaDame's Violet Moth, Dame's Rocket Moth
- Pontia protodiceCheckered White
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
7BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Lepidium
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
5BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Lepidium
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Centrocercus urophasianusGreater Sage-Grouse
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
- Perdix perdixGray Partridge
- Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Flies 6
- Cistogaster occidua
- Gymnosoma fuliginosa
- Limnophora narona
- Nemotelus glaber
- Phorantha purpurascens
- Zodion fulvifrons
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Adult butterflies / moths 1
- Pontia protodice
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
Other wasps 3
- Anoplius illinoensis
- Leionotus clypeatus
- Leionotus illinoensis
Flower visits · Carlinville, Illinois, USA
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Brassicaceae
- Flower color
- White
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “White” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “6 inches–2 feet” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Annual or biennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Sun” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- primary_flower_color · “white” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Dry” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























