PHOTO PROVIDED Dame’s rockets are found growing along our roadsides.

Both insects and wind have been scattering pollen from the many spring flowers appearing almost daily. One flower which will soon be seen is dame’s rockets.

It has been said that this plant had been particularly liked by lady gardeners; hence, the name of dame. The long, slender seed pods stand erect on the stems much like a rocket. Perhaps this is where part of its common name comes from.

Dame’s rocket, which is a hardy and vigorous perennial, is known by many names, such as dame’s violet, sweet rocket, damask violet, dame’s wort and mother-of-the-evening.

The flower is often referred to as wild phlox or garden phlox, but it is not even related to the phlox. At a glance, the flower might appear the same but there are many differences. The phlox flower has five petals, while the dame’s rocket has only four. The leaves of the phlox are wider, with no teeth on the margin, and oppositely attached to the stems, while the dame’s rocket leaves have a toothed margin and are alternately attached to the stems. Lastly, the dame’s rocket blooms in the spring, while the phlox blooms in the summer.

The dame’s rocket, which belongs to the mustard family (Cruciferae), was introduced into North America from Europe. The name comes from two Latin words: crucimentum, meaning torture, and feraae, meaning wild beast (perhaps, this is due to wild animals not liking the pungent taste).

After escaping from gardens, the dame’s rockets established themselves from New England to Georgia. The botanical name is Hesperis matronalis, with Hesperis being Greek and meaning evening or evening star; matronalis is Latin for matronly, womanly and wifely.

The mustard family is a very large family, having approximately 200 genera and about 1,800 species. Its members are widely distributed over the globe. Two prominent characteristics of the Cruciferae are the cross-like arrangement of the four petals of the flowers, and the very pungent, acrid and mustardy juice of the plant.

The outer parts (sepals) of the flower are often green and leaf-like and enclose a developing bud. These sepals are four in number and usually fall off early. Some of our garden vegetables which belong to the mustard family are: watercress, broccoli, Brussel sprout, turnip, radish, horseradish and mustard. However, most members of the mustard family are considered noxious weeds.

Plants bear both common and scientific names because man tends to call a plant by many different names, depending on the area in which he lives. For example, common mullein has about 80 names, and, according to Van Wijk’s Dictionary of Plants, the water lily has a total of 245 different names. Botanists have chosen names from Latin and Greek languages since they were the most widely understood by scholars from all over the world.

The scientific name of any plant is made up of two parts, the generic (genus) name and the specific (species) name. Genus is a group of closely related plants, and species is a group of closely similar plants.

Through the years, I’ve learned that these flowers wilt quickly after being picked. On several occasions, I’ve tried to get out of the dog house by picking a bouquet of dame’s rockets for Mary Alice, only to have them wilt on the way home.

The seeds of the dame’s rocket have a sharp-tanged bite just as all the members of the mustard family. Unlike most of the mustard family, the dame’s rocket flowers are quite fragrant, with a delicate smell similar to that of a violet. They are especially fragrant in the evening. The leaves, seeds and flowers of the plant are edible, but best enjoyed in moderation. One book, A Modern Herbal, advises that a strong dose will cause vomiting.

The dame’s rocket is a tall, short-lived perennial which produces either white, pink or purple flowers during the spring. The plant is known for its colorful and fragrant blooms and has been a traditional garden favorite. In recent years, the dame’s rocket has gone rogue, moving from yards and garden plantings into the adjoining landscapes.

An abundant seed producer, dame’s rocket is dispersed with the aid of mammals. When the seed-bearing pods ripen, they pepper seed onto the coats of a wide variety of wildlife, allowing for extensive seed spreading. As a result the plant is rapidly infiltrating waterways, wetland margins, farm fence rows and tree lines, and even colonizing natural areas of prairie, savanna, stream waterways and many types of wetland margins.

Today, dame’s rocket plants can be found in almost every state, officially making the flower a noxious weed in states, such as Colorado, Connecticut and Massachusetts. While not appearing on a federal list, some states have banned the plant’s sale, propagation, distribution, etc., within their state.

Dame’s rocket seems to be following explosive growth patterns similar to its close relatives in the mustard family, such as garlic, mustard, yellow rocket, hedge mustard and wild radish, which are all highly invasive species that have infested agricultural lands and native woodlands across the country.

Bill Bower is a retired Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife Officer. Read his blog and listen to his podcasts on the outdoors at www.onemaningreen.com.