Fragrance of Spring Series - Dames Rocket

Rolling by you smell a sweet bright smell of something sweet. It's the month of May and there are purple and white flowers all around. These flowers are called Dames Rocket.  The genus name for Dame’s rocket, Hesperis, is derived from the Greek hesper, which refers to the evening, potentially because this plant is known to be more sweet-scented in the evening. The species name matronalis means ‘of matrons.’ Other common names for this plant include Sweet rocket, Dame’s violet and Mother-of-the-evening. Dame’s rocket was introduced for ornamental purposes from Eurasia in the early 1600s. Its spread nationally has been accelerated by the inclusion of Dame’s rocket in “wildflower” seed mixes for gardens. The leaves, oil and seeds of this plant are edible. The young leaves are rich in vitamin C and can be eaten raw as a cress substitute in salads. The plant is also cultivated for its essential seed-oil which is used in perfumes....

Not to be confused with the native "Phlox Flower". You can distinguish the two by the flower petal count. The Dames rocket has 4 petals and the Phlox has 5 petals. The Dames is not native to Illinois or even North america. It originally came Europe.

Other Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesperis_matronalis