In damp meadows, on banks of rivers and on bare, wet ground, Creeping Yellowcress sprawls and straggles its way on solid stems. Spreading by runners, this hairless perennial, which grows to no more than 50 cm high, bears heads of deep-yellow four-petalled flowers (5 – 6 mm) from June to October. The petals are twice as long as the sepals and the plant has shiny, deeply-divided leaves, each having lanceolate lobes. The fruits are borne in elliptical pods. This is a native plant and it belongs to the Brassicaceae family.
I first came across this plant in one of my favourite meadows at Inistioge, County Kilkenny in 2010 when I photographed it. I also found it growing on the wall beside the River Nore further downriver from ‘my’ meadow.
If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre
