Virginia Peppergrass
Lepidium virginicum var. virginicum
Found in disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 41%
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 101 Virginia counties.
Habitats
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Who uses this plant?
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
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
0Specialist 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
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
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- BRASSICACEAE
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5T5 |
| VA 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
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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