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Summary

A cold-hardy, native “wintercress” of mountain meadows and cool, moist disturbed sites, American yellowrocket offers peppery brassica greens very early in the season. It’s closest in culinary use to broccoli-raab: harvest young rosette leaves and tight flower clusters and give them a quick boil or sauté to tame the heat. It is mainly a forager’s spring pot-herb, not a calorie crop. USDA zones: ~3–8. Height/Spread: 30–90 cm × 20–40 cm.

Physical Characteristics

Barbarea orthoceras is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in).
See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 4. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Flies, bees, beetles. The plant is self-fertile.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soils.
It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist soil.

UK Hardiness Map US Hardiness Map

Synonyms

B. americana. Rydb. B. stricta. non Andrz.

Plant Habitats

Bog Garden; Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves
Edible Uses:

A reliable native spring green for cool mountains and meadows—best before flower. Ecologically useful and culinarily decent with simple blanch-and-sauté prep. Best parts: young rosette leaves and tight buds (cooked). Quality window: pre-bolt. Rating: 3/5.Young leaves - raw or cooked[177]. The rosettes of the dark green, shiny leaves are eaten raw or cooked [257]. A hot, cress-like flavour. Young leaves and pre-bloom shoots/bud clusters are edible (fresh in small amounts; best cooked). Roots and mature stems are fibrous/pungent and not valued. Edibility rating: 3/5 (good spring green when treated like raab; quality drops fast after bolting) [2-3]. aste, Processing & Kitchen Notes: Flavor is mustardy-peppery with less pungency than many wild mustards when harvested young. Blanch 30–60 s then sauté, or boil 2–3 min and dress with fat/acid. Broth becomes yellow-green and pleasantly savory. Older leaves get sharp/alkaline; avoid. Tight buds can be stir-fried like broccoli raab [2-3]. Harvest & Processing Workflow: 1. Identify clean rosettes; harvest young leaves & tight buds 2. Rinse, then blanch or quick-boil; save the savory broth for soup. 3. Use as raab/greens; avoid older, tough, bitter foliage.Cultivar/Selection Notes: None widely offered; use local/native seed if gardening for habitat. Look-Alikes & Confusion Risks: Other yellow mustards (e.g., Rorippa, Descurainia, Sinapis) and watercress/bittercress (Nasturtium, Cardamine). Confirm smooth stems, clasping lobed upper leaves, and appressed angular siliques with very short beak. Traditional/Indigenous Use Summary: Specific recorded food uses are sparse; as a native “mustard,” young leaves likely served as spring potherbs where available.

References More on Edible Uses

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

None known

References More on Medicinal Uses

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Other Uses

Ecology & Wildlife: Early nectar for syrphid flies, native bees; host for brassica-feeding insects. Post-disturbance colonizer that binds surface soils.

Special Uses

References More on Other Uses

Cultivation details

Cool-season plant preferring full sun to bright partial, moist, well-drained loams with consistent spring moisture; tolerates neutral to slightly alkaline soils. Size & Landscape Performance: Clumps 30–90 cm tall in bloom; neat rosettes beforehand. In native plantings it provides early pollinator nectar and a brief gold bloom period; disappears in summer heat. Cultivation (Horticulture): Treat like a cool-season brassica. Identification & Habit: Biennial (occasionally short-lived perennial) with a first-year basal rosette; second year sends up smooth, leafy, unhairy flowering stems. Lower leaves pinnate or deeply lobed (typically <4 lateral pairs) with a larger terminal lobe; upper leaves clasp the stem and are strongly lobed. Four-petaled yellow flowers in elongating racemes. Siliques 2–5 cm, appressed to ascending, 4-angled; beak absent or <2 mm. Seasonality (Phenology): Rosettes: very early spring (often as snow retreats). Bolting/flower: May–August (site elevation dependent). Seed: summer into early autumn. Quality for greens is pre-bolt to early bud. Pests & Problems: Typical brassica issues: flea beetles, aphids, occasional downy mildew/white rust (Albugo) in cool, wet spells. Heat triggers rapid bolting and bitterness.

References Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information

Temperature Converter

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Plant Propagation

Seed: easiest; germinates cool (5–15 °C). Self-seeds modestly if allowed to ripen.

Other Names

If available other names are mentioned here

American yellowrocket, Wintercress

Native Range

TEMPERATE ASIA: Russian Federation (Buryatia, Yakutia-Sakha, Altay, Krasnoyarsk, Taymyr, Chita, Irkutsk, Kurganskaja oblast), Russian Federation (Kurile Islands, Habarovskij kraj, Primorye, Amur, Kamcatskij kraj, Magadanskaja oblast, Sakhalin), China (Heilongjiang Sheng, Gansu Sheng, Jilin Sheng, Liaoning Sheng, Nei Mongol Zizhiqu, Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu), Korea, Japan (Hokkaidô, Honshu, Shikoku), Taiwan NORTHERN AMERICA: Canada (Northwest Territories, Yukon, Québec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba, British Columbia), United States (Alaska, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, Minnesota, South Dakota, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah)

Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section. Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it's worth checking.

This plant can be weedy or invasive. Low to moderate. Native and patch-forming in disturbed cool soils; far less aggressive than B. vulgaris.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status : This taxon has not yet been assessed. Threatened and Endangered Information: Maine (American winter-cress) Possibly Extirpated. New Hampshire (American winter-cress) Endangered.

Related Plants

Latin Name	Common Name	Habit	Height	Hardiness	Growth	Soil	Shade	Moisture	Edible	Medicinal	Other
Barbarea australis		Biennial/Perennial	0.5	-		LMH	SN	M	2	1
Barbarea stricta	Small-flowered winter-cress	Biennial	0.8	3-10	F	LMH	N	MWe	2	0	0
Barbarea verna	Land Cress, Early yellowrocket	Biennial	0.3	4-9		LMH	FSN	M	3	0	1
Barbarea vulgaris	Yellow Rocket, Garden yellowrocket	Perennial	0.4	3-9		LMH	SN	M	3	1	1

Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.

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Barbarea orthoceras - Ledeb.