Dame's Rocket

Now that the spring season is in full swing, I wanted to bring another herbaceous plant to the table.

This week we’re highlighting dame’s rocket, a pretty (and sometimes invasive) flowering vegetable that is abundant and easy to identify!

Plant Profile:

Scientific Name: Hesperis matronalis

Preferred Habitat: Forest edges, near creeks or streams, partially shaded understories

Edible Parts: Flowers, leaves, seeds, roots (uncommonly eaten)

Distribution: Widely distributed across the Midwest and New England states, scattered in parts of the Great Plains and West Coast states. Also found in various parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Harvest Season: Spring mainly, but parts of it can be harvested in the Summer through early fall in most places.

Key Identifiers: Iconic cross-shaped flowers (4 petals) that bloom in white or pinkish purple in early spring and pointed lance-shaped leaves in an alternate pattern up the stem.

Toxic Look-Alikes: No toxic look alikes in my region, but it can be mistaken for other brassica species (like some mustards) which are also edible or potentially wild phlox which has 5 petals on the flowers not 4.

Nutrition:

• Very high in vitamins C and A

• High in antioxidants

• High in lutein

• High in calcium, potassium, and magnesium

• High in glucosinolates (typical of brassicas) that protect against disease

I can’t find a reliable breakdown of all of the exact nutrients, but they are probably similar to arugula since they are closely related.

Uses

The leaves can be eaten fresh or cooked, although I strongly recommend you cook them!

They are tender and much like arugula when cooked (even when just boiled in saltwater!) and can be very good. The saltwater is the real key to taking out the bitterness and bringing out that sweet greens flavor! It also tenderizes older leaves that would otherwise be too chewy or fibrous.

The clusters of flowers can be cooked the same way and have a slightly sweet spicy undertone that is really delicious and beautiful in a meal!

Alternatively, you could dry the leaves and powder them for adding to meals as a nutrition blend.

In addition to being a potherb, I’ve heard of people using it in soups, kimchi, pesto, salsa verde, on pizzas, or cooked with meats and eggs. People also pickle the seed pods but I have not tried that yet.

I have heard of people eating the root as well which tastes similar to a bitter radish, but I’ve never been interested enough to try it myself. It’s fairly uncommon to eat the root from my understanding. I’d rather stick to dandelion or chicory root!

Growth Habits

I tend to find dame’s rocket near the edges of forests, especially where it gets some shade during the day.

Often you can find huge patches of it along highways and roads if there is forest nearby!

They also seem to like areas near water like streams and creeks as long as they get at least partial sun.

Dame’s rocket is naturalized in a lot of North America but in some states, it is considered invasive. Right now, it’s not on the official invasive species list in Michigan, but it wouldn’t be hard for it to get out of control.

Eating the plant (especially at the flowering stage) is a great way to help keep it from spreading even if it doesn’t completely eradicate the issue.

Additional Information

Dame’s rocket is a brassica relative and shares many characteristics with other members of the family.

One key trait is the shape of the flowers. They are a distinct cross-shaped, four petaled flower that comes in either white or lavender/pink.

Young leaves can be harvested early in the spring or late winter, but you really have to know what you’re looking for! Look for basal rosettes of leaves tinged with purple to eat young leaves, otherwise look for the plants when they’re a few feet tall and producing flower heads (it’s almost that time by me, maybe closer to the end of May we’ll start seeing them pop up).

Cultivars

I don’t know of any cultivars specific to the species we’re talking about here, but I can point you in the direction of some arugula cultivars which is a close cousin. Make sure to use discretion and plant responsibly.

If something is invasive in your state, don’t go planting a bunch of it just go harvest from the wild populations.

• Roquette - A strain that closely resembles its wild cousin Dame’s Rocket

• Wild Rocket - A cultivar with yellow flowers and thin, lobed leaves

• Slow-Bolt - A large, leafed variety bred to not go to seed as quickly

• Red Dragon - An oak-leaf variety with a dark reddish-purple vein running down the middle

• Sylvetta Wild - A slower growing variety with significant heat and cold tolerance

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