This is a dame's rocket, also known as a damask-violet, dame's-violet, dames-wort, dame's gilliflower, night-scented gilliflower, queen's gilliflower, rogue's gilliflower, summer lilac, sweet rocket, mother-of-the-evening, and winter gilliflower. Does it win some kind of award for the flower with the most nicknames?
If I eat them, will I grow gills so I can swim underwater?
(No, DO NOT EAT them--this was just a joke--though young leaves and sprouts may be edible according to Wikipedia)
we have a plant here called coontie. it's the only cycad native to north america. the root is full of starch but also full toxins. it was an important source of food for the seminoles and later european settlers. so much so that they actually fought a war over it. but that's besides the point. the root is edible only if its prepared properly, which involves several washings, i'm guessing. i've always wondered how they determined that it was worth eating and how many died while they figured out how to prepare it.
Arrowroot? And we feed that to our kids.
"Dame’s rocket has escaped from gardens and is rapidly invading the surrounding landscapes. Left unchecked, this beautiful, yet lethal plant will wreak havoc on the natural environment, threatening the survival of native plants and degrading habitat and water quality." (https://www.appliedeco.com/dames-rocket)