| Author | (L.) W.T. Aiton | |
| Distribution | Mostly the lower Piedmont and Sandhills; scarce in the Coastal Plain. First collected in 1953 in Chatham County at a churchyard.
Native of Europe and the Middle East; in N.A. MA to MI south to SC; also B.C.-CA. | |
| Abundance | Uncommon to locally common in the lower Piedmont and Sandhills, but rare in the Coastal Plain. Local populations may number in the hundreds or more plants. | |
| Habitat | Dry sandy roadsides, churchyards, cemeteries, lawn weed, airport, disturbed soil. | |
| Phenology | Flowering and fruiting late February-April. | |
| Identification | Shepherd's Cress is a small but attractive plant, reaching only 6-10 inches tall, but it has a large number of pure white flowers produced at the stem apex in a dense ball of flowers. The basal leaves are very small and form a rosette that hugs the ground; each is divided into 3-4 pairs of lobes plus a terminal segment. The stems are unbranched, and with 0-4 tiny uncut leaves. At a distance, a stand in bloom looks a bit like White Clover (Trifolium repens). | |
| Taxonomic Comments | | |
| Other Common Name(s) | | |
| State Rank | SE | |
| Global Rank | GNR | |
| State Status | | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
