Garden yellowrocket

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

NNA - Not applicable
SNA - Not applicable

Minnesota

not listed

Weed Status

Garden yellowrocket is listed as an invasive or noxious weed in five states, including Michigan. It is not listed in Minnesota.

Wetland Indicator Status

Great Plains

FACU - Facultative upland

Midwest

FAC - Facultative

Northcentral & Northeast

FAC - Facultative

Description

Garden yellowrocket, also known as yellow rocket, or in the UK as winter cress, is an exotic, 8″ to 32″ tall, erect, biennial or short-lived perennial forb that rises from a stout taproot. In it’s first year it forms a rosette of basal leaves up to 1′ across. In the second year it produces one or more flowering stalks. This is one of the first flowers to bloom in the spring. It blooms a second time in late fall.

The stems are erect, angled, and usually unbranched below the inflorescence. They are usually hairless but are sometimes sparsely covered near the base with unbranched, nonglandular hairs.

The leaves are alternate, dark green, hairless, and shiny on the upper surface. Basal leaves are up to 6″ long and 2″ wide and are attached to the stem with a ¾″ to 3″ long leaf stalk. They are divided into 1 to 4 pairs of small lateral lobes and a large terminal lobe. The lateral lobes are oblong, two to four times longer than broad with nearly straight sides or egg-shaped and attached at the narrow end. The terminal lobe is considerably larger, egg-shaped or nearly circular. The margins are wavy or bluntly toothed.

Lower stem leaves resemble the basal leaves but are progressively smaller as they ascend the stem. A pair of ear-like basal lobes clasp the main stem.

Upper stem leaves are egg-shaped or nearly circular and may be lobed, toothed, or entire. The margins are strongly wavy or bluntly toothed. They attach to the main stem without a stalk and sometimes clasp the stem at the base. They are not covered with a whitish, waxy coating (glaucous).

The inflorescence is a terminal, branched, elongated, crowded cluster.

The flowers have four yellow petals, are ½″ wide, and are stalked.

The fruit is an ascending or spreading, ½″ to 1½″ long, narrow, curved pod that is roundish in cross-section. The fruits develop below the inflorescence.

Height

8″ to 32″

Flower Color

Yellow

Similar Species

Early winter cress (Barbarea verna) has basal leaves with 4 to 7 pairs of lateral lobes. It is an eastern and west coast species and does not occur in Minnesota.

Northern winter cress (Barbarea orthoceras) is a native species. The petals are smaller, the flowers are ¼″ wide, and the flower stalks are thick and somewhat club-shaped.

Habitat

Moist. Fields, pastures, roadsides, and other disturbed sites.

Ecology

Flowering

April to June, September

Defense Mechanisms

This and other mustards (family Brassicaceae) produce chemical compounds when cells are damaged that are toxic to most animals, fungi, and bacteria.

Toxicity

Yellow rocket contains glucobarbarin, a chemical that deters animals from eating it. It is toxic to horses but not to dogs and cats.

Pests and Diseases

Use

Young leaves can be picked in the early spring and eaten raw in salads or chopped and cooked like spinach. As the weather warms, older leaves become strongly bitter. They must be boiled in two changes in water to reduce the bitterness.

Distribution

Sources

2, 3, 5, 7, 24, 28, 30, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 5/18/2026).

Midwest Herbaria Portal. 2026. https://midwestherbaria.org/portal/index.php. Accessed 5/18/2026.

Barbarea vulgaris (L.) W.T.Aiton in GBIF Secretariat (2023). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org. Accessed 5/18/2026.

EDDMapS. 2013. Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System. The University of Georgia - Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health. Available online at www.eddmaps.org/. Accessed 5/18/2026.