Edge/ Mouse-ear Cress

COMMON NAME: Mouse-Ear Cress

OTHER COMMON NAME(S):

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Arabidopsis thaliana

FAMILY: Brassicaceae

COMMUNITY: Edge

STATUS: Naturalized from Europe

LIFESPAN: Annual or winter-annual

HEIGHT: 4 to 16 inches

FLOWERING TIME: Late March to late May

FRUITING TIME: April to June

DISTRIBUTION: Throughout the United States ~ Statewide in New Jersey ~ Grows on fields and disturbed habitats in sandy, damp or dry soil

IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS: Leaves chiefly basal rosette, oblong, hairy, upper leaves linear ~ Flowers terminal, white or purplish ~ Numerous oval seeds

GENERAL INFORMATION: The Brassicaceae family commonly known as the Mustard or Crucifer family consists of 390 genera and 3,000 species of herbs and shrubs.  The flowers’ four petals are in the shape of a cross (Latin crucifer means “cross-bearing”).  The Brassicaceae family includes many economically important plants including the vegetables cabbage, kale, cauliflower, mustard greens, broccoli rabe, cress, turnip, radish, kohlrabi and rutabaga.  The condiment mustard is the ground seed of Bassica or Sinapis species.  An ancestral cabbage was cultivated about 8,000 years ago in coastal areas of northern Europe.  Cruciferous oil seeds, from species of Bassica, rank fifth in the 1990s in economic importance after soybeans, cotton seed, ground nut and sunflower seed.  Some Mustard plants are called Rocket, which is derived from eruca, Latin for “cabbage”. This species thaliana is named for Johann Thal who described Mouse-Ear Cress in the 16th century. Mouse-Ear Cress is a weed of dry, sandy and rocky open ground and fields. It is also found along roadsides and in waste places.  Upland game birds and song birds feed on the seeds of Mouse-Ear Cress.

Please note: While harvesting wild berries/fruit is permitted at Island Beach State Park, visitors must adhere to park regulations at all times and must not damage vegetation or go off designated trails.  This information is presented for educational purposes.