Yellow rocket

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Yellow rocket leaves

Yellow rocket leaf

Yellow rocket

Yellow rocket inflorescence

Yellow rocket

Yellow rocket flowers

Yellow rocket

Yellow rocket leaf

Yellow rocket

Yellow rocket

Morphology

Stem

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.

Inflorescence

Racemes, terminal on branches; flowers crowded together.

Flower

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.

Fruit

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.

Ecology

Habitat

Roadsides, fallow and cultivated fields, wet meadows, pastures, moist woods, stream banks, gardens, and waste areas.

Distribution

East 2/5 of Kansas.

Practical Information

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.