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Hoary Cress

Lepidium draba

Found in disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

—
Not native

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

Profile 35%

Height
8–24 inches

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial

Not yet recorded · Spread · Light · Soil · Leaves · Bloom

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

Recorded in 4 Virginia counties.

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

10CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Lepidium

  • Anthocharis mideaFalcate Orangetip
  • Chlorochlamys chloroleucariaBlackberry Looper Moth
  • Euchloe olympiaOlympia Marble, Rosy Marble
  • Eustixia pupulaSpotted Peppergrass Moth
  • Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
  • Plutella porrectellaDame's Violet Moth, Dame's Rocket Moth
  • Pontia protodiceCheckered White
  • Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
  • 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

Hoarycress; White Top Cress; White Topped Cress; Whitetop Cress; Whitetopped Cress; Whitlow Grass; Whitlowgrass

Conservation status

Virginia rankNot available
Global rankNot available
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources