Lesser Swine Cress

Leaves

The leaves are feathery and pinnate and start growing in a rosette but this soon becomes a tangled mass of stems and leaves.

Flowers

Has tiny, white/green, delicate, complicated four petaled flowers that start appearing from April to October.

Fruit

The seeds form a bi-globose fruit with orange to red seeds.

Stem

Can be long, hairy and very branched.

Habitat

Waste ground, cultivated and arable land, bare ground, flowerbeds, parks, roadsides or near to the sea.

Possible Confusion

Swine Cress is very similar to Lesser Swine Cress but is edible.

Can be mistaken for Stagshorn Plantain or Pineapple Weed, pictured, but these are also both edible.

Smell

Pungent and Cress like.

Taste

Strong, hot, sometimes salty, cress or mustard flavoured.

Frequency

Common particularly around farms and disturbed soil.

Collecting

Only the leaves of this plant are used and care should be taken when gathering Swine Cress as it likes to grow in some unsavoury positions.

Medicinal Uses

The results of medical tests on Lesser Swine Cress show it to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Other Facts

As a fodder for animals.