Yellow Rocket, Wintercress

(Barbarea vulgaris Ait. f.)

Brassicaceae (Mustard Family)

mature plant ▲

flowers ▲

Yellow Rocket/Wintercress (p. 141, Weeds of the Midwest;  p. 190-191, Weeds of the Great Plains; pp.168-169, Weeds of the Northeast) 

·         cool season annual or biennial weed, (sometimes a short-lived perennial) grows 8-24" tall

·         long leaves, with rounded tips and indented or lobed lower sections

·         inflorescence a spike of bright yellow flowers in spring—very noticeable, showy

·         found in fields, roadsides, pastures, timothy, alfalfa (matures before forages are cut, so seeds travel with hay)