265, see text Lepidium is a genus of plants in the mustard/cabbage family, Brassicaceae.

The genus is widely distributed in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia.

[2] It includes familiar species such as garden cress, maca, and dittander.

General common names include peppercress, peppergrass, pepperweed, and pepperwort.

[3] The genus name Lepidium is a Greek word meaning 'small scale', which is thought to be derived from a folk medicine usage of the plant to treat leprosy, which cause small scales on the skin.