Wikimedia Commons
Brassicaceae
Alpine Penny-Cress
Thlaspi caerulescens
Hidden value.
- Family
- Brassicaceae
- Genus
- Thlaspi
- Native to
- Europe
- Bloom season
- Spring, Summer
- Type
- perennial herb
- Height
- 0.25-0.75 ft
- Sunlight
- full sun
- Soil
- Well-drained, rocky, mineral-rich soil
- Water
- low
- Hardiness
- 4-8
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- Alpine Penny-Cress is a hyperaccumulator that can absorb extraordinary amounts of zinc, cadmium, and nickel from soil into its tissues.
- Scientists are studying it for phytoremediation, using it to clean up heavy-metal-contaminated soils at former mining sites.
- A single plant can accumulate zinc concentrations up to 30,000 parts per million in its leaves without suffering damage.
- The flat, round seed pods resemble tiny coins (pennies), giving the plant its common name.
- It naturally colonizes metalliferous soils near old mines in Europe, growing where virtually no other plants can survive.
Color meanings
0
resilience
1
transformation