MUSTARD FAMILY CRUCIFERAE 
FALSE ROCKET. PURPLE ROCKET 
Iodanthus pinnatifidus (Michx.) Steud. 
The common name of this plant comes from the latter’s 
similarity to another plant with larger flowers, which is 
cultivated in gardens under the name Rocket. 
The False Rocket 
never becomes a 
weed. It grows mostly 
along river banks and 
in moist woods, and 
is found from western 
Pennsylvania to 
Minnesota and south 
to Tennessee, Louis- 
iana, Missouri and 
Texas. It is the only 
species of Jodanthus 
and is not found in 
other parts of the 
world. The flowers 
bloom in May and 
June and the fruits 
mature in July and 
August. ? 
The plant is a 
smooth erect peren- 
nial 1-3 feet high, branching toward the top. The lower leaves 
are ovate or oblong and 2-8 inches long. They taper into mar- 
gined petioles which have earlike appendages at the base and 
clasp the stem. The leaf forms vary greatly from the base to the 
top of the stem; an upper leaf is shown. 
The many flowers are purple, brightening to violet or even 
whitish. They are one-quarter inch broad and on spreading 
pedicels. The 4 sepals and 4 long petals are all quite slender. 
The 6 stamens are arranged as usual in this family, with 2 
shorter than the other 4, but the pistil is provided with a stout 
style. The fruit is an ascending linear pod 1-1% inches long, 
somewhat flattened and containing several oblong seeds in 2 
rows separated by a thin partition. 
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