Plants of
South Australia
Lepidium phlebopetalum
Brassicaceae
Veined Peppercress,
Unmut#a
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
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Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
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Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 7

Prior names

Lepidium eremaeum

Nasturtium phlebopetalum

Lepidium rotundum var. phlebopetalum

Monoploca phlebopetala

Lepidium eraemeum, orth.var.

Common names

Veined Peppercress

Unmut#a

Etymology

Lepidium from the Greek 'lepis' meaning a scale; referring to the appearance of the fruits. Phlebopetalum from the Greek 'phlebos' meaning veins and 'petalum' meaning petals; referring to the numerous veins on the petals.

Distribution and status

Found across much of South Australia except near the coast, growing in a variety of habitats on sandy & clayey soils. Also found in all mainland states. Native. Common in South Australia. Rare in Victoria. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Murray
NRM regions: Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Annual to perennial shrub to 30 cm high, decumbent to erect, glabrous to hairy or shortly warty. Leaves entire, lanceolate to linear, obtuse, to 50 mm long and 3 mm wide, thick, sometimes falling in dry conditions. Inflorescence an elongating open spike with white to purple flowers, petals veins deeply pigmented, petals slightly longer than sepals. Flowers throughout the year. Fruits are brown ovate to circular pod to 9 mm long and 7 mm wide, winged with the narrow obtuse to acute wing forming a notch one-sixth of the fruit length. Seeds are orange reinform seed to 3 mm long and 2 mm wide, with a transparent wing on the margin. Seed embryo type is bent.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between January and December. Collect maturing pods those turning reddish brown with hard seeds inside. Be gentle with the pods as they split open easily. Place the pods in a tray and cover with paper to prevent seeds from popping out and leave to dry for a week. Then rub the dried pods gently by hand to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. From one collection, the seed viability was high, at 100%.

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)		Number
of plants		Date
collected		Collection number
Collection location		Date
stored		% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB		7,500 (18 g)
7,500 (18 g)		8522-Oct-2004MOL4543
Gairdner-Torrens		28-Mar-2006100%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.
We acknowledge the contributions of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, the Botanic Gardens of South Australia, and the Department for Environment and Water.