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Alpine pennycress
Noccaea caerulescens
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Alien species
Alpine pennycress is a small white-flowered plant in the mustard family, usually blooming in late spring to early summer. It is often seen in open, disturbed places such as roadsides, lawns and field margins. Native to European mountains, it also thrives around towns and farmland.
Did you know?
- Its base leaves stay green under the snow and carry the plant through winter.
- The pollen sacs are often deep violet, adding a dark speck to the white flowers.
About the species
Identification
A short-lived or perennial plant 15–40 cm tall, usually with a single, unbranched stem. A ring of leaves sits at the base; along the stem there are few (sometimes many) bluish-green, smooth leaves without stalks that wrap the stem. The tip bears a tight, leafless cluster of tiny white, four-petalled flowers; the pollen sacs are often dark violet. Later it shows small, flat pods about 6–8 mm long with a small notch at the tip and a thin rim. Look-alikes include field pennycress and field pepperwort; the small pods and bluish, stem-hugging leaves point to alpine pennycress. Flowers in Finland in May–June.
Plant group
Herbaceous plants
Habitat
meadow, yards and roadsides
Flowering
May–Jun
About the habitat
Open, sunny, often disturbed ground: parks, yards, lawns, roadsides, waste ground, pastures, field edges and sloping meadows. Common in southern Finland and the eastern parts of Central Finland, scarce northwards up to central Lapland.
Sources
Photo: Anders Wahl, Public domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vårpengeurt.jpg
Text: Pinkka: Laaja maatalouslajintuntemus 4 op - Koppisiemeniset, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38455
Text: Pinkka: Kasvien talvi - Talvivihreät luonnonkasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38455
Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kev%C3%A4ttaskuruoho
