The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

dame's-rocket, dames'-violet, mother-of-the-evening, rocket, sweet rocket

Stems

unbranched basally, often branched distally, 4–8(–11) dm, often eglandular, glabrous distally.

Basal leaves

withered by flowering, long-petiolate.

Cauline leaves

short-petiolate;

blade narrowly oblong, lanceolate, or broadly ovate, (2–)4–15(–20) cm × (4–)8–40(–60) mm, base cuneate, margins denticulate or entire, apex acute or acuminate, surfaces pubescent.

Flowers

sepals 5–8 × 1.5–2 mm;

petals (13–)15–20(–22) × 3.5–9 mm, claw 6–12 mm;

filaments 2.5–6 mm;

anthers 2.5–4 mm.

Fruiting pedicels

(5–)7–17(–25) mm.

Fruits

(4–)6–10(–14) cm × 2–2.5 mm.

Seeds

(2.5–)3–4 × 1–1.5 mm.

2n

= 24.

Hesperis matronalis

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jul.
Habitat Gardens, roadsides, oak glades, waste areas, bluffs, floodplains, abandoned fields, railroad embankments, thickets, woodland
Elevation 0-2200 m (0-7200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AR; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MN; MO; MT; NC; ND; NE; NH; NJ; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; TN; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; AB; BC; MB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; SK; se Europe; c Asia; sw Asia; n Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South America (Argentina, Chile)]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 562.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Hesperideae > Hesperis
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 663. (1753)
Web links