WARNING: Purple Flowers In North Dakota Are Not What You Think

I have several wildflowers that grow inside my lawn where I live south of Lincoln, North Dakota.

I use the term "lawn" loosely as it's very difficult to grow grass in the sandy soil I call home.  We have more bare spots than grass to be honest.  That means that weeds and wildflowers have ample room to take up residence inside of my lawn.

One of those wildflowers as it turns out is not what I thought it was.  In fact, it's considered an invasive species.

According to iNaturalist, this evasive species of flowers is known by many names including:

Damask-violet, dame's-violet, dames-wort, dame's gilliflower, night-scented gilliflower, queen's gilliflower, rogue's gilliflower, sweet rocket, and mother of the evening.

This very striking flower with purple to white leaves is most widely known as the "Dame's Rocket".

They are very common in roadside ditches or meadows all across North Dakota.  Here's a picture of some.

Here's a video that explains a little more.

The Dame's Rocket is often confused with another purple flower not considered invasive, the Phlox. 

The best way to tell them apart is by the petals.  The Phlox has 5 petals, and the Dame's Rocket has 4.

I have to say, I think the Dame's Rocket is unfairly demonized.  You sure can't argue with her beauty.  That purple really pops on a sunny day.  I go out of my way not to mow them over in my yard, to be honest.

The Dame's Rocket also has another nice feature, they smell AWESOME, much like lilacs.  If I could, I would let a good share of my lawn ( I have two acres) just get taken over by the wildflower.  It's better than mowing right?

I wonder if my neighbors would complain.

We all have things that we enjoy that aren't good for us right?  I guess you can add this wildflower to my list.

Speaking of wildflowers here's another one of my favorites.

Video courtesy of Lainey Wilson YouTube Channel.