Common Name: Swine Wartcress

General Information

Lepidium didymum is an annual to biennial plant producing a short-lived basal rosette of leaves and a few to several usually strongly branched stems can be creeping or ascending and are up to 40cm long. All parts of the plant have an offensive smell[, ].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. The dried plant material is sold for medicinal purposes in S. America[]. The plant also has potential for use in soil remediation projects.
Lepidium didymum is a cosmopolitan weed[]. It has spread from its native range in S. America to much of Europe, N. America and parts of Africa and Asia partly by its seeds being carried by birds and mammals and also by various human activities[]. In some regions it is considered a serious weed of cultivated land, for example. in wheat, potato, pea, carrot and onion crops in India and in onion crops in Brazil[].

Known Hazards

Cows may produce off-flavoured milk when they have been fed with grass mixed with Lepidium didymum. It has been suggested that this is caused by the inhibitory actions of benzyl isothiocyanate present in the plant on microbial and/or enzymatic activities inthe rumen of the cows[].

Botanical References

Range

S. America - Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, southern and eastern Brazil, Bolivia, Peru

Habitat

Waste places, roadsides, cultivated fields, frequently mown lawns etc[, , ]. Roadsides, waste areas, lawns, pastures, fields, gardens, disturbed areas; at elevations up to 1,000 metres[]. Found chiefly in sandy soils in Texas[].

Properties

Weed Potential	Yes
Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Habit	Annual/Biennial
Height	0.30 m
Pollinators	Self
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Wild

Cultivation Details

After germination, Lepidium didymum plants develop rapidly. They often complete their life cycle within a few months[].
The whole plant has a foetid smell[].

Edible Uses

Leaves - raw or cooked and eaten as a vegetable[, , ]. A strong hot cress-like flavour[, ].

Medicinal

The plant (part not specified) is credited with antiscorbutic, digestive, expectorant, febrifuge, stimulant and tonic properties[]. The plant is valued in traditional medicine as a treatment for cancer, gangrene, haemorrhoids, allergies and wounds[].

A decoction of the whole plant is drunk to treat headache and fevers[].

A leaf poultice is applied externally to treat headache[].

Phytochemical screening of the plant showed the presence of flavonoids, saponins and tannins. The bioactive flavonoid chrysoeriol has been isolated. These compounds have free radical-scavenging and antioxidant properties[].
The sterol beta-sitosterol has been isolated from the petroleum ether extract; it has hypocholesterolaemic activity[].
The seeds contain erucic acid and glucosinolate[].
Tests in India have shown wound-healing, anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, antipyretic, hypoglycaemic and hepatoprotective activities of the plant[].

Agroforestry Uses:

The plant is often found as a weed of disturbed soil. It has been found to tolerate high levels of lead in the soil and to accumulate the metal in its leaves and roots, though mainly in the roots. The plant has excellent potential for mitigating lead from polluted soils and is a promising candidate for use in soil remediation projects

Other Uses

None known

Propagation

Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ.