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Clasping Pepperweed

Lepidium perfoliatum

Found in disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

—
Not native

Not native to Mississippi. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 59%

Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet

At a glance

Bloom
April to May

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 1 Mississippi county.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

12CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS

Genus host records with ranges including MS · Lepidium

  • Anthocharis mideaFalcate Orangetip
  • Ascia monusteGreat Southern White
  • Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
  • Eustixia pupulaSpotted Peppergrass Moth
  • Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
  • Hellula phidilealisCabbage Budworm
  • Hellula rogatalisCabbage Webworm
  • Plutella porrectellaDame's Violet Moth, Dame's Rocket Moth
  • Pontia protodiceCheckered White
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
Show all 12
  • Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
  • Xanthorhoe labradorensisLabrador Carpet, Packard’s Carpet
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
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
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Brassicaceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Clasping Pepper Weed; Perfoliate Pepper Wort; Perfoliate Pepperwort; Shield Cress; Shieldcress

Conservation status

Mississippi rankSNA
Global rankGNR
MS statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources