Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Malvids: Brassicales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Hesperis matronalis
FAMILY
Brassicaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Dame's Rocket at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Dame's Rocket somewhat resembles Purple Rocket (Iodanthus pinnatifidus) in overall appearance, but differs in petal length, silique length, and lower stem pubescence. Read more in Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hesperis matronalis
FAMILY
Brassicaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Hesperis matronalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Hesperis matronalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 088-17-001:
Hesperis matronalis FAMILY Brassicaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hesperis matronalis
COMMON NAME:
Dame's Rocket
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_hema3_001_lvd
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_h_matronalis
April
The fragrant flowers are borne in showy terminal racemes on stem & branches, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
COMPARE
Dame's Rocket and Fireweed
)
JK Marlow jkm0405e_20
May Haywood County NC
Cultivated and escaped, now invading natural areas in northern states, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Hesperis matronalis
FAMILY
Brassicaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Hesperis matronalis
FAMILY
Brassicaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Hesperis matronalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Hesperis matronalis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 088-17-001:
Hesperis matronalis
FAMILY
Brassicaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Hesperis matronalis
663
Forb
Biennial
Habitat: Bottomlands, roadsides, moist forests, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe
Common in NC Mountains, rare or waifs elsewhere in GA-NC-SC
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- Kentucky Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2013
- Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2009
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Lavender/Pink/White
Radially symmetrical
4 sepals
4 petals
6 stamens strongly tetradynamous (2 short, 4 long)
Bisexual
Inflorescence a raceme
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Silique
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p306
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p138
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p351
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p093
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p090
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p117
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p061
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".