Lepidium sativum L.

 
  • Family : BRASSICACEAE
    (Mustard Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : SARSON FAMILY (सरसों फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Brassicaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Cardamon sativum (L.) Fourr.; Thlaspi sativum (L.) Crantz
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Lepidium sativum L.
  • Common name : Garden Cress, Water Cress, Garden pepper-grass
  • Vernacular name :
    • Halim Hurf (Hindi)
    • Aasali, Asali (Malayalam)
    • Adavi vithulu (Telugu)
    • Aliv, Assalia (Marathi)
    • Aliverai (Tamil)
  • Habit : Herb
  • Habitat : Cultivated in the plains as a cold-weather garden crop and weed in crop field
  • Comments / notes : The seeds are used medicinally, and the leaves are eaten raw
  • Key identification features : Stem up to 70 cm. high, erect, simple to much branched, glabrous or with very scattered minute hairs
  • Flower, Fruit : December-April
  • Distribution :
    • Karnataka : Kolar district
    • Kerala : Idukki district
    • Maharashtra : Akola district, Mumbai Suburban district, Ahmednagar district, Osmanabad district, Pune district, Ratnagiri district, Satara district, Sindhudurg district
    • Odisha : Cuttack district, Khurda district
    • Tamil Nadu : Kolli Hills (Namakkal district), Sirumalai Hills (Dindigul district)
    • Uttarakhand : Uttarakhand
    • Himachal Pradesh : Kinnaur district
    • Delhi : Delhi
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Punjab : Punjab
    • Rajasthan : Jaisalmer district, Barmer district, Bikaner district, Jodhpur district
    • Jammu and Kashmir : Jammu and Kashmir
  • Native : Afghanistan, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Czechoslovakia, East European Russia, Egypt, France, Greece, Gulf States, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Kuwait, Lebanon-Syria, Lesser Sunda Islands, Netherlands, Northwest
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Afghanistan, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Central European Russia, Czechoslovakia, East European Russia, Egypt, France, Greece, Gulf States, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Kriti, Krym, Kuwait, Lebanon-Syria, Lesser Sunda Islands, Netherlands, Northwest European Russia, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Saudi Arabia, Sicilia, Sinai, South European Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Tadzhikistan, Turkey, Turkey-in-Europe, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Yemen, Yugoslavia
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
    • N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka
    • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Kamble & Pradhan, 1988. Flora of Akola District, Maharashtra. Botanical Survey of India
    • N.P. Sing & S. Karthikeyan 2000. Flora of Maharashtra vol 1
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
    • Maheshwari K.J (1963). Flora of Delhi: 62
    • Duthie J.F.(1960). Flora of The Upper Gangetic Plain Vol.1: 47
    • H J, Chowdhery, et al. Flora of Himachal Pradesh. Volume 1, Botanical Survey of India, 1984. Pg.: 70
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Lepidium sativum. Downloaded on 28 April 2025.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

India Distribution

World Distribution

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