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Field Pennycress

Field Pennycress

Thlaspi arvense

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How common: Common

Alien species

Field Pennycress is a small annual with tiny white flowers and very noticeable flat, round seed pods edged with a broad rim. It thrives on disturbed ground such as fields, gardens, paths and waste places, and is widespread across the temperate Northern Hemisphere.

Did you know?

  • The round pods look like tiny coins, which gives it the name “pennycress”.
  • If seeds sprout in autumn, the small leaf rosette can stay green under snow and survive winter.

About the species

Identification

Annual, usually 20–50 cm tall. Upright, hairless, angular stem, unbranched or sparsely branched. Lower leaves have short stalks and wither early; upper leaves have no stalk and partly wrap around the stem, long and narrow with arrow-like bases and wavy or slightly toothed edges. Flower cluster tight at the stem tip; flowers small and white. Seed pods are flat, round discs about 1–1.5 cm across with a broad rim and a tiny notch at the tip. Unlike Shepherd’s-purse, the pods are round, not heart-shaped. Flowers in Finland from June to September.

Plant group

Herbaceous plants

Habitat

yards and roadsides

Flowering

Jun–Sep

About the habitat

Prefers disturbed, nutrient-rich ground: arable fields, gardens, roadsides, paths, yards and waste places. Often a common weed in open soil and trampled sites. Common throughout Finland.

Sources

Photo: Michael Pongratz, CC0 1.0 https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/6159317704

Text: Pinkka: Verso- ja leviäintunnistus - Kaikki leviäimet, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38454

Text: Pinkka: Laaja maatalouslajintuntemus 4 op - Koppisiemeniset, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38454

Text: Pinkka (Luomus), CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38454

Text: Pinkka: Kasvien talvi - Talvivihreät luonnonkasvit, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38454

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peltotaskuruoho

See also