thlaspi

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A genus of cruciferous plants, type of tribe Thlaspideæ. It is characterized by equal petals, stamens without appendages, and a sessile emarginate pod with laterally compressed winged or keeled valves, and two or more seeds in each cell. There are about 30 species, natives chiefly of northern regions, both temperate and arctic. They are usually smooth annuals, sometimes perennials, with a rosette of radical leaves, the stem-leaves with an auricled clasping base, and the racemed flowers either white, pink, or pale-purple. For T. arvense of Europe, see penny-cress, and cuts under accumbent and pod.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. herbs of temperate regions: pennycress