HerbWildAnnual

Rorippa palustris (L.) Besser

Marsh Yellow cress

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Description

Rorippa palustris is an annual or biennial herb, usually 20–80 cm tall, with erect branched stems. Lower leaves are pinnatifid and petiolate, while upper leaves are lanceolate and sessile. Flowers are small, yellow, with four petals, arranged in elongated racemes. Fruits are short cylindrical siliques containing numerous tiny seeds.

Diagnostic Characters

Vegetative

Erect herb with pinnatifid lower leaves.

Floral

Small yellow flowers in elongated racemes.

Fruit & Seed

Short cylindrical siliques.

Distribution

Native range: Europe, Asia, and North America.

In Pakistan: Northern Pakistan, especially in moist habitats.

Phenology

Flowering

Fruiting

Flowering: April–July Fruiting: May–August

Ethnobotany & Uses

Uses

Young plants are occasionally consumed as leafy vegetables. Provides food for aquatic insects and birds. A minor weed in wet agricultural fields.

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Where it grows on campus

This species is on the campus floristic list but was not pinned during the GPS mapping survey, so it has no map records yet.

Taxonomic Notes

Rorippa palustris is distinguished by its preference for wet habitats, yellow flowers, and short cylindrical siliques. The accepted name follows Flora of Pakistan, POWO, and WFO.