Common Whitlow-Grass

This miniature plant, the Common Whitlow-Grass (Erophila verna) is not a grass but a member of the Brassicaceae, or Crucifer-family. Mustard and Cuckoo-flowers, other crucifers, are giants compared to it. It is even smaller than a normal-sized pine-cone, as you see in the picture below.



Even if it is easy to overlook, the Common Whitlow-Grass is not difficult to find. Just put your nose to the ground in a dry place at a roadside, or in the center of a sandy path, and more often than not there are thousands of it.