''Rorippa austriaca'' is a species of
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the family
Brassicaceae known by the common names Austrian yellow-cress
and Austrian fieldcress. It is native to parts of Europe and Asia, and it is known in North America as an
introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived there ...
and sometimes a
noxious weed
A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or liv ...
. It can grow in disturbed habitat, such as roadsides, and in very wet habitat such as
mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...
s. It is a
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
herb
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
growing upright to erect, reaching a maximum height near one meter. The branching stem bears hairless blue-green lance-shaped leaves up to 10 centimeters long. The bases of the upper leaves clasp the stem. The
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
is a
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
at the top of the stem and the ends of stem branches. The mustardlike flowers have small yellow petals. The fruit is a plump
silique a few millimeters long, but many plants do not fruit and seed production is rare. Reproduction in this species is more often
vegetative
Vegetative describes vegetation. Vegetative may also refer to:
*Vegetative reproduction
Vegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in ...
, the plants concentrating their growth in belowground tissue and spreading
clonally. The root system of the plant is particularly aggressive, sending up many new plants as it spreads.
CDFA EncycloWeedia
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References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileFlora of North AmericaWashington Burke MuseumPhoto gallery
austriaca
{{Brassicales-stub