Reseda luteola

Dyer's rocket

Family: Resedaceae · Type: biennial · Not Native

Dyer's rocket is a naturalized biennial found in coastal and central California regions including the northern Coast Ranges, San Francisco Bay Area, and southern coastal areas in disturbed areas, fields, and roadsides at elevations below 250 meters. Flowering from May to October, this plant produces small, irregular yellow flowers approximately 2 to 4 millimeters long with distinctive asymmetrical petals. Growing with glabrous stems up to one meter tall, it forms an upright, branching structure with slender, smooth green stems. Its leaves are simple and entire, arranged alternately along the stem without serrations or complex divisions. The plant produces erect, three-parted fruits containing smooth seeds less than one millimeter long.

Habitat: Disturbed areas, fields, roadsides

Bloom period: May-Oct

Elevation: < 250 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoR, n SNF, CCo, SnFrB, s SCo (San Diego)

California counties: San Diego, Napa, Mendocino, Marin, Kern, Tehama, Alameda, Sonoma, Yuba, Trinity, Placer, Humboldt, Glenn, Sacramento, Lake

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.