''Barbarea orthoceras'' is a species of flowering plant in the family
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The le ...
known by the common name American yellowrocket. It is native to North America, including much of Canada and the western United States, as well as parts of Asia. It grows in moist areas such as meadows and riverbanks. This is a perennial herb producing a stiff, branching stem to heights between 10 and 60 centimeters. The leaves are a few centimeters long and generally oval in shape with several rounded lobes toward the end. The
inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
is a spike or cluster of bright yellow flowers at the tip of each stem branch. The fruit is a straight, narrow
silique
A silique or siliqua (plural ''siliques'' or ''siliquae'') is a type of fruit (seed capsule) having two fused carpels with the length being more than three times the width. When the length is less than three times the width of the dried fruit i ...
up to 5 centimeters long.
The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, and the roots can have a horseradish-like flavor.
External links
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USDA Plants ProfileJepson Manual Treatment
References
orthoceras
''Orthoceras'' ("straight horn") is a genus of extinct nautiloid cephalopod restricted to Middle Ordovician-aged marine limestones of the Baltic States and Sweden. This genus is sometimes called ''Orthoceratites''. Note it is sometimes misspelle ...
{{Brassicales-stub
Leaf vegetables