Wintercress: Identification & Uses

Wintercress (Barbarea vulgaris), also known as Yellow rocket, is an abundant spring weed that’s easy to identify and fun to use in the kitchen. It’s an invasive species here in the US, so you don’t have to feel bad about eating your fill!

Invasive plants make some of the best eating, and you’ll know you’re working double duty to help reclaim spaces for native plants while setting your table with wild foraged greens.

Like garlic mustard and Japanese knoteweed, wintercress is an invasive edible plant that is controlled in it’s native land by serving it for dinner. Here in the US, the greens have gained popularity, especially in the South, where they’re known as “Creasy Greens.”

What is Wintercress?

Wintercress (Barbarea vulgaris) is a common biennial or short-lived perennial herbaceous weed in the Brassica or Brassicaceae family. It’s not native to the United States and is often considered an invasive species.

It’s known by many common names including yellow rocket, creasy greens, creases, rocketcress, yellow rocketcress, wound rocket, or herb barbara.

Is Wintercress Edible?

Yellow rocket or Wintercress is edible. Most foragers prefer the young leaves which are more mild and tender. However, the older leaves and flowers are edible, too. Historically, herbalists also used yellow rocket to make medicinal tea. 

Wintercress may be safe for humans, but it can be problematic for grazing livestock. It is listed as toxic for horses and may cause stomach irritation and digestive issues in cows and other ruminants. 

Avoid harvesting wintercress from areas with potentially contaminated soil, such as roadsides. Some new evidence suggests that the saponins in wintercress may be hard on the kidneys when consumed in large quantities. Don’t eat wintercress if you have kidney issues or are prone to kidney stones.

Wintercress Medicinal Benefits

Wintercress has been widely used as a medicinal herb in part because of its early spring appearance. It is a rich source of vitamins and minerals when little else is available in the spring. Its high levels of vitamin C and timely appearance made it a top choice for tea as a tonic and to ward off scurvy and other deficiencies. 

Historically, wintercress tea was also used as a diuretic and to improve appetite and digestion. Herbalists of the past also used the leaves as a poultice to help cleanse and heal wounds. The ancient Greeks and Romans also believed that yellow rocket was an aphrodisiac. 

Wintercress quickly spread to North America with the colonists, who used it medicinally. The Native Americans added it to their own medicinal practices. Reportedly, the Cherokee used the herb as a blood purifier and other groups used it to help with coughs. 

Some studies may support their use as a health-boosting spring tonic. Research has shown that wintercress is an excellent source of vitamin C. It’s also a good source of antioxidants. 

Wintercress is one of the few wild plants still widely used by rural populations both for food and medicine. Here in the United States, many Appalachians still cook yellow rocket (creasy greens) each spring.

Surveys of Central Italy also listed it as a common herb, and researchers noted it as one of the plants that deserves further consideration from experts as a potential health investment.

Where to Find Wintercress

Wintercress is native to North Africa and parts of Eurasia but has naturalized in many temperate areas. It has a wide range in North America and New Zealand.

Common wintercress thrives in open, disturbed areas. Look for it growing in pastures, gardens, fields, waste places, stream banks, and along roads and railroads. It does best in moist but well-drained soil and will tolerate sand, clay, or loam and a variety of pH levels.

When to Find Wintercress

In mild climates, wintercress is present year-round. However, even in southern climates, it puts on most of its growth in the cool, wet days of early spring. Most people like to harvest wintercress at this stage for fresh eating. It’s tender and mild for eating raw when young. Depending on your location, this may be anywhere from late February to May.

Wintercress grows and flowers fairly quickly. In the south, you may see it blooming as early as April, but in the north, it may bloom as late as June. The whole plant is still edible at this stage, though it tends to have a much more bitter, peppery flavor. Many foragers use these older plants as a potherb.

Identifying Wintercress

You may have noticed yellow rocket in bloom before. When in flower, its bright yellow blossoms stand out in pastures, fields, and gardens. It’s a little trickier to spot in its earlier stages, but this is when it’s best to enjoy. Its feather-like leaves with an oval or spoon-shaped terminal leaflet can help you identify it. 

Wintercress Leaves

In its first year, yellow rocket forms a basal rosette of shiny, dark green, hairless, compound feather-like leaves. They usually grow 3 to 6 inches long and 1 to 3 inches wide. The terminal leaflet on these leaves is oval or spoon-shaped and much larger than the other leaflets. The other leaflets get smaller towards the base of the leaf. These basal rosette leaves grow on long petioles. 

In its second year, the plant sends up a flowering stem. The leaves that form on the flowering stem are sessile or directly attached to the stem and lack a petiole. They form in an alternate pattern up the stem.

Wintercress Stems

Wintercress sends up a flowering stem in its second year. It has ribbed, green, hairless stems that are often branched at the base.

The stems grow up from the basal rosette of leaves, usually reaching one to two feet tall, though three-foot-tall plants have been recorded.

Wintercress Flowers

Wintercress forms crowded racemes of bright yellow or gold flowers at the ends of its flowering stems. In its second year, it usually flowers between April and June. The flowers begin blooming at the bottom of the raceme and bloom upwards. 

The individual flowers have four petals that form in a cross-like formation. They’re usually about ⅜ inch in diameter. 

Wintercress Seed Pods

The flowers give way to cylindrical seed pods starting at the bottom of the raceme as new flowers open near the tip. They’re connected to the main stem on a slender pedicel or stalk and are about ¾ to 1 inch long. They begin as green or greenish yellow and ripen to brown or tan.

Wintercress Look-Alikes

Wintercress is often confused with another yellow-flowered invasive, Wild Mustard (Sinapis arvensis). However, there are a couple of simple ways to tell them apart:

• Wild mustard leaves are hairy and may be simple or compound.
• Wild mustard stems are often red or reddish-green and are covered in coarse hairs.
• Wild mustard blooms from spring until fall.
• Wild Mustard seed pods may grow up to 1 ½ inches long.

Wintercress may also be confused with wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum). Here are a couple of ways you can differentiate them:

• Wild radish has rough, hairy blue-green leaves.
• Wild radish has green stems that are often bluish near the base and are covered in bristly hairs.
• Wild radish may have white or pale yellow, pink, or lilac flowers.

Lastly, wintercress is easy to confuse with another aggressively invasive brassica, Black Mustard (Brassica nigra). There are a few key ways to tell them apart:

• Black mustard has simple, alternate leaves.
• The upper surfaces of the lower black mustard leaves are covered with stiff, bristly, short white hairs.
• Black mustard stems may reach almost 4 feet tall and usually have scattered bristles at the base.
• Each black mustard stem has about four flowers blooming in a ring around the top.

Ways to Use Wintercress

The easiest way to enjoy wintercress is to harvest the young tender leaves. They’re one of the first greens available in spring and add a mild, peppery taste to salads and omelets. I find that they’re best for fresh eating when they’re less than 4 inches long. The buds and flowers also make colorful, peppery additions to salads later in the season.

As the plant gets older the leaves get a bit more bitter. This time of year, I find that the leaves are best as a potherb. You can add them to soups, stews, and meat dishes. Steaming them eliminates some of the bitterness, but if you still find it to be too much, cooking them in a change of water helps. 

These bitter greens also go well with highly flavorful dishes that help mask their bitterness. They’re excellent fermented in kimchi or stewed in curry. 

Medicinally, the plant is primarily used as a spring tonic and a source of vitamins and minerals. If you don’t enjoy eating yellow rocket you can always use it as a spring tea. It’s best sweetened with honey or maple syrup. It may also make a good tincture for easy use. 

Traditionally, herbalists also used yellow rocket as poultice. Simply crush or chew the leaves and paste them over minor cuts, scrapes, and skin irritations. 

You can dry or freeze yellow rocket for later use. Before freezing, blanch your greens for 2 to 3 minutes in boiling water. Then, dunk them in ice water, drain, and dry them well before putting them in the freezer. 

To dry yellow rocket, you will probably need a dehydrator unless you live in a very dry climate. Use your dehydrator on the greens or herbs setting between 115 and 125° F.

Wintercress Recipes

• Try this nourishing and comforting yellow rocket soup recipe from Edible Wild Food.
• Learn to cook a simple yet flavorful Mess o’ Creasy Greens the traditional way with Alan Muskat.
• Turn your greens into a filling side with this recipe for Creasy Greens, Sweet Potatoes, and Bacon from So Hungry.
• Take your foraged food up a level with this recipe for Ten-Hour Braised Lamb Neck with Wilted Creasy Greens.
• For an amazing spring brunch, whip up this Spring Wintercress Frittata with Sauce Sandwich.