Barbarea vulgaris W. T. Aiton, Brassicaceae

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Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk; score: 17 (Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment for Barbarea vulgaris)

Other Latin names:  Barbarea arcuata (Opiz ex J. & C. Presl) Reichard; Barbarea stolonifera W. T. Aiton; Campe barbarea (L.) W. Wight ex Piper; Erysimum arcuatum Opiz ex J. & C. Presl; Erysimum barbarea L.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: bittercress, cressy-greens, herb-Barbaras, rocket cress, upland cress, wintercress, yellow rocket

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Herbs biennial or rarely perennial, glabrous throughout or sparsely hairy. Stems (20–)30–80(–100) cm tall, erect, angled, branched above. Basal and lowermost cauline leaves petiolate; petiole (0.5–)2–8(–12) cm, glabrous or ciliate; leaf blade (1–)2–8(–10) cm, lyratepinnatifid, with 1–3(–5) lobes on each side of midvein, rarely early ones undivided, sometimes slightly fleshy; lateral lobes oblong or ovate, 0.3–2(–4) cm × 1–8(–15) mm, entire, repand, crenate, or dentate; terminal lobe ovate or suborbicular, considerably larger than lateral ones, (0.7–)1.5–4.5 (–7) × (0.4–)1–3(–5) cm. Upper cauline leaves ovate or suborbicular, undivided, coarsely dentate, sinuate, or rarely subentire, sessile, conspicuously auriculate; auricles ovate or narrowly oblong, to 10 × 5 mm, often ciliate. Racemes ebracteate, elongated considerably in fruit. Sepals yellow, oblong, 3–4 × 1–1.5 mm, erect, margin scarious, lateral pair slightly saccate. Petals yellow, spatulate, rounded, 5–6(–7) × 1.5–2 mm, attenuate to base. Filaments yellow, 3–4.5 mm; anthers oblong, 0.7–1.2 mm. Fruiting pedicels divaricate or erect-ascending, 3–7 mm, terete or subquadrangular, glabrous, narrower than fruit. Fruit linear, (0.7–)1.5–3 cm × 1–1.5 mm, terete, somewhat compressed, or 4-angled, torulose, erect to erect-ascending; gynophore to 0.5 mm; valves apex obtuse or subacute; style slender, 1.5–3 mm. Seeds dark brown, broadly ovate or subglobose, 1.2–1.5 × 1–1.2 mm, uniseriate, plump, wingless. Fl. and fr. Apr–Aug. 2n = 16." (Flora of China, vol. 8, PDF pp. 124-125)

Habitat/ecology:  "[Barbarea vulgaris] occurs in many habitats in Europe, often in damp ground and lowland areas including riverbanks, meadows, shingle and ditches, to more disturbed habitats such as roadside verges, arable land, wasteland and docklands (Polunin 1969, Rich 1991, Lafranchis and Sfikas 2009). It is found in siliceous, calcareous, sandy, alluvial and clay soils, avoiding highly acidic sites. It is known to require a degree of disturbance and therefore, is found in roadsides, hedges, ditches and waste places (Preston et al. 2002). In the Caucasus this species can be is found up to 2,500 m (Shetekauri and Jacoby 2009) and in Greece up to 2,000 m (Lafranchis and Sfikas 2009)." (IUCN Red List)

In China: "Along ditches, river banks, damp grasslands, waste places, roadsides, fields, disturbed sites; 700–4100 m." (Flora of China, vol. 8, PDF p. 125)

In China: "Fl. and fr. Apr–Aug.16." (Flora of China, vol. 8, PDF p. 125)

Propagation:  (no propagation information known by PIER)

Native range:  Northern Africa (Algeria, Tunisia); temperate & tropical Asia; Europe (GRIN)

"Barbarea vulgaris is native to north, central, east, southwestern and southeastern Europe, as well as parts of temperate Asia and North Africa, and is widespread throughout much of its range." (IUCN Red List)

Impacts and invaded habitats:  (no invaded habitats or impacts known by PIER; please let us know if you know of such information we should add here)

Presence:

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Asia Asia	Asia (southwest)		Zhou, Taiyan/Lu, Lianli/Yang, Guang/Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. (2001) (pp. pdf pg#s 124-125) accessed 20180511; "naturalized elsewhere"
Asia Asia	Asia (temperate)	native	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180511 (see ref for more detail)
Asia Asia	Asia (tropical)	native	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180511 (see ref for more detail)
Asia Asia	Kashmir		Zhou, Taiyan/Lu, Lianli/Yang, Guang/Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. (2001) (pp. pdf pg#s 124-125) accessed 20180511; "naturalized elsewhere"
Asia Asia	Kazakstan		Zhou, Taiyan/Lu, Lianli/Yang, Guang/Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. (2001) (pp. pdf pg#s 124-125) accessed 20180511; "naturalized elsewhere"
Asia Asia	Mongolia		Zhou, Taiyan/Lu, Lianli/Yang, Guang/Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. (2001) (pp. pdf pg#s 124-125) accessed 20180511; "naturalized elsewhere"
Asia Asia	Pakistan		Zhou, Taiyan/Lu, Lianli/Yang, Guang/Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. (2001) (pp. pdf pg#s 124-125) accessed 20180511; "naturalized elsewhere"
Asia Asia	Russia		Zhou, Taiyan/Lu, Lianli/Yang, Guang/Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. (2001) (pp. pdf pg#s 124-125) accessed 20180511; "naturalized elsewhere"
Asia Asia	Tajikistan		Zhou, Taiyan/Lu, Lianli/Yang, Guang/Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. (2001) (pp. pdf pg#s 124-125) accessed 20180511; "naturalized elsewhere"
Asia Asia (Pacific rim)	Korea		Zhou, Taiyan/Lu, Lianli/Yang, Guang/Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. (2001) (pp. pdf pg#s 124-125) accessed 20180511; "naturalized elsewhere"
China China	China (People's Republic of)		Zhou, Taiyan/Lu, Lianli/Yang, Guang/Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. (2001) (pp. pdf pg#s 124-125) accessed 20180511; "naturalized elsewhere"
Japan Japan	Japan		Zhou, Taiyan/Lu, Lianli/Yang, Guang/Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. (2001) (pp. pdf pg#s 124-125) accessed 20180511; "naturalized elsewhere"
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	invasive	Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 43) (X)=present as a weed (but importance rank unknown)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180511; PIER "Ref cites as invasive?" = TRUE because ref cites as "naturalized"

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka	Sri Lanka		Zhou, Taiyan/Lu, Lianli/Yang, Guang/Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. (2001) (pp. pdf pg#s 124-125) accessed 20180511; "naturalized elsewhere"

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Africa Africa	Africa (northern)	native	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180511 (see ref for more detail)
Canada Canada	Canada	invasive	Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 43) (C)ommon weed
Canada Canada	Canada	introduced invasive	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180511; PIER "Ref cites as invasive?" = TRUE because ref cites as "naturalized"
Eurasia Eurasia	Soviet Union	invasive	Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 43) (X)=present as a weed (but importance rank unknown); cited as both Barbarea arcuata and Barbarea vulgaris
Europe Europe	Belgium	invasive	Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 43) (X)=present as a weed (but importance rank unknown)
Europe Europe	Europe	native	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180511 (see ref for more detail)
Europe Europe	Europe		Zhou, Taiyan/Lu, Lianli/Yang, Guang/Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. (2001) (pp. pdf pg#s 124-125) accessed 20180511; "naturalized elsewhere"
Europe Europe	Finland	invasive	Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 43) (X)=present as a weed (but importance rank unknown)
Europe Europe	Yugoslavia	invasive	Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 43) (C)ommon weed
India India	India (Republic of)		Zhou, Taiyan/Lu, Lianli/Yang, Guang/Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. (2001) (pp. pdf pg#s 124-125) accessed 20180511; "naturalized elsewhere"
South America South America	Argentina	introduced invasive	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180511; PIER "Ref cites as invasive?" = TRUE because ref cites as "naturalized"
United States of America United States	United States	invasive	Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 43) (C)ommon weed
United States of America United States	United States	introduced invasive	GRIN (year unknown) accessed 20180511; PIER "Ref cites as invasive?" = TRUE because ref cites as "naturalized"

Control:  If you know of control methods for Barbarea vulgaris, please let us know.