Hesperis matronalis

Dame’s rocket, also known as dame’s violet and mother-of-the-evening, was introduced as an ornamental around the time of European settlement. It continues to be widely used as an ornamental and can be found throughout North America.

This introduced plant is a biennial or short-lived perennial that is sparingly branched, except where the racemes of flowers occur. It is normally erect and about 2–3½' tall. The stems are round and pubescent. The alternate leaves are up to 6" long and 2" across. They are lanceolate, pubescent, and dentate with widely spaced teeth along the margins. The lower leaves usually have short petioles, while the upper leaves are sessile and slightly smaller in size. The base of each leaf is well-rounded or wedge-shaped, but never cordate. The upper stems terminate in racemes of flowers about 6-18" long. Each flower is about ¾–1" across and long, consisting of 4 rounded petals, 4 linear-lanceolate sepals, several stamens, and a pistil. The petals are bright purplish pink fading to pink or nearly white. The sepals are pinkish green and pubescent. The calyx is cylindrical in shape and has only a narrow opening at the throat of the flower. The pedicels are pubescent and up to 1" long. The blooming period occurs from late spring to mid-summer and lasts about 1–1½ months. There is a pleasant floral scent that reportedly becomes stronger at night. The flowers are replaced by ascending siliques (narrowly cylindrical seedpods) that are about 1½-4" long at maturity. These siliques are slightly pubescent and several-seeded. The seeds are somewhat flattened and ellipsoid-oblongoid in shape. The root system consists of a taproot and coarse secondary roots. Cultivation

Canada

Origin: Exotic

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Exotic

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

Dame's Rocket is an occasional plant that occurs in NE Illinois and scattered counties elsewhere (see Distribution Map). It was introduced from Europe as an ornamental plant and has been grown in gardens since the Roman Empire. Habitats include moist meadows, woodland edges and openings, thickets, semi-shaded fence rows, banks of drainage ditches, vacant lots, edges of yards, and flower gardens. Dame's Rocket is still cultivated as an ornamental plant, even though it invades natural habitats that are partially shaded. Faunal Associations

Habitats invaded include open woodlands, prairies, roadsides, ditches, and other disturbed areas.

Europe

Hesperis matronalis L.:
Canada (North America)
Chile (South America)
United States (North America)
China (Asia)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Distribution: Europe, C. and W. Asia.

• Plant: herbaceous, biennial forb up to 4 ft. in height.
• Leaves: alternate, hairy, broadly lanceolate with toothed margins, sessile or nearly so, 2-6 in. long.
• Flowers, fruits and seeds: flowers showy, fragrant, white to purple or pink with 4 petals in a cross; late spring; fruits slender, cylindrical and arch upwards.
• Spreads: by seed.
• Look-alikes: might be confused with wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata), fall phlox (Phlox paniculata) and non-native annual honesty (Lunaria annua).

A tall, biennial herb, 40-100 cm tall, sparsely branched above, erect, leafy with cauline leaves not amplexicaul, large, dentate. Racemes 20-30-flowered, up to 20 cm long in fruit. Flowers c. 15 mm across, handsome, white, lilac or violet. Sepals 6-8 mm long. Petals 15-20 mm long, c. 2.5 (-3) mm broad, sparsely and inconspicuously glandular. Stamens c. 6: 8 mm long; anthers c. 2.5 mm long. Siliquae (3-) 5-9 cm long, c. 3 mm broad, glabrous, sparsely or inconspicuously glandular, subtorulose; valves rigid with a distinct mid-vein and a few other parallel veins; seeds c. 3 mm long.

Herbs biennial or rarely perennial, 40-80(-110) cm tall, pubescent with simple and forked trichomes. Stems erect, simple basally, often branched above, eglandular and often glabrous distally. Basal leaves withered by flowering. Middle and upper cauline leaves narrowly oblong, lanceolate, or broadly ovate, (2-)4-15(-20) × (0.4-)0.8-4(-6) cm, shortly petiolate, pubescent with simple and forked trichomes, base cuneate, margin denticulate or entire, apex acute or acuminate. Fruiting pedicels divaricate or ascending, (0.5-)0.7-1.7(-2.5) cm, eglandular. Sepals narrowly oblong, 5-8 × 1.5-2 mm. Petals deep purple, lavender, or white, obovate, (1.1-)1.5-2(-2.2) cm × 3.5-9 mm, apex rounded; claw 6-12 mm. Filaments 2.5-6 mm; anthers linear, 2.5-4 mm. Fruit terete, (4-)6-10(-14) cm × 2-2.5 mm; valves glabrous, constricted between seeds. Seeds oblong, (2.5-)3-4 × 1-1.5 mm. Fl. and fr. May-Sep. 2n = 24.

Dame's Rocket is an occasional plant that occurs in NE Illinois and scattered counties elsewhere (see Distribution Map). It was introduced from Europe as an ornamental plant and has been grown in gardens since the Roman Empire. Habitats include moist meadows, woodland edges and openings, thickets, semi-shaded fence rows, banks of drainage ditches, vacant lots, edges of yards, and flower gardens. Dame's Rocket is still cultivated as an ornamental plant, even though it invades natural habitats that are partially shaded. Faunal Associations

Xinjiang [native to Europe and SW Asia; cultivated and naturalized elsewhere].

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / parasite
Erysiphe cruciferarum parasitises live Hesperis matronalis

Foodplant / pathogen
Leptosphaeria maculans infects and damages live Hesperis matronalis

Foodplant / parasite
colony of sporangium of Peronospora parasitica parasitises live Hesperis matronalis
Remarks: season: 1-4

Foodplant / spot causer
amphigenous colony of Ramularia hyphomycetous anamorph of Ramularia armoraciae causes spots on live leaf of Hesperis matronalis

Foodplant / saprobe
pycnidium of Rhabdospora coelomycetous anamorph of Rhabdospora scrophulariae var. hesperidis is saprobic on dead stem of Hesperis matronalis

Fl. Per.: April-June.

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 3
Specimens with Barcodes: 10
Species With Barcodes: 1

Rounded Global Status Rank: G4 - Apparently Secure

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNA - Not Applicable

Do not purchase or plant this species. Individual plants can be pulled by hand if soil is moist or dug up using a spade or shovel to loosen the soil and remove the entire root system. Re-sprouting may occur if entire root system is not removed. Systemic herbicides can be used to kill the entire plant including the roots.

These species are introduced in Switzerland.

Dame’s rocket displaces native plant species.