Herb of St. Barbara.Barbarea vulgaris.Yellow Rocket.Winter Cress.
Found in sunny places, by clear water and in moist meadows during May.
The single stalk, from 12 to 16 inches in height, is branching only for the flowers; it is large, fibrous, and strong, grooved, but very smooth, and of a shining, pure, green color.
The lower leaves are 3 or 4 inches long, lyre-shaped, and cut nearly to the midrib into 5 or 7 irregular lobes, the middle lobe being very round; the upper leaves are cut less deeply, and are small; the margins are entire, the texture strong, and the lower surface rough, the upper being smooth and shining; in color, dark full green. The lowest leaves are on clasping stems, all the rest clasp the stalk with a pair of wings, alternately.
The 4 petals of the small flower are rounding, and arranged in pairs within the small 4-parted green calyx; they are of a charming light yellow color, and so are the 6 stamens. These stamens group themselves oddly about the central pistil,—two pairs stand in front of the pairs of petals, and the single shorter stamens fill the more open spaces left in the opposite angles. The flowers form loose terminal groups.
The stalk springs from a foot-rosette of the rich green leaves, and is one of the earliest risers of the spring, in its chosen home—a marshy meadow.