YELLOW ROCKET
File Size: 83 KB
 
Barbarea vulgaris  W.T. Aiton
Douglas County, Kansas
Perennial or occasionally biennial
Height: 8-36 inches
Family: Brassicaceae - Mustard Family
Flowering Period:   April, May, June
Also Called: Winter cress.
Stems: Erect, branched above, ridged, mostly glabrous.
Leaves: Alternate, oblanceolate, dark green; basal leaves deeply pinnately-divided, 1 to 6 inches long, glossy, clasping; terminal lobe rounded; lateral lobes 1-4 pairs, smaller; upper leaves progressively smaller, more coarsely toothed than lobed, usually sessile.
Inflorescences: Racemes, terminal on branches; flowers crowded together.
Flowers: To 3/8 inch across; sepals 4, lanceolate to elliptic, ascending, about 1/10 inch long; petals 4, bright yellow, narrowly egg-shaped, 1/4 to 1/3 inch long; stamens usually 6, outer 2 shorter than inner 4.
Fruits: Pod, linear, 1 to 2 inches long, roundish in cross-section; erect, ascending or spreading; style persistent; beak slender; seeds several, broadly oval to oblong, grayish, wrinkled.
Habitat: Roadsides, fallow and cultivated fields, wet meadows, pastures, moist woods, stream banks, gardens, and waste areas.
Distribution: East 2/5 of Kansas.
Origin: Native of Eurasia. Introduced in colonial times as a garden plant used for salads. Now naturalized.
Toxicity: Thought to cause digestive disturbances in livestock.
Uses: The young leaves and stems can be cooked and are said to have a flavor similar to dandelions. However, consumption has been associated with kidney malfunction. Native Americans used a tea of the leaves to treat coughs and scurvy. Ground foraging birds eat the seeds.

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