The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links
Boechera subpinnatifida

ashy rockcress

Cascade rockcress

Habit Plants long-lived perennial; with woody caudices. Plants long-lived perennial, cespitose; with somewhat woody caudices.
Stems

1–4(5) dm; lower parts with short-stalked, 2–6-rayed trichomes; upper parts sparsely pubescent.

0.5–2.2 dm; lower parts with few simple and short-stalked, 2- or 3-rayed trichomes; upper parts glabrous.

Basal leaves

narrowly oblanceolate, 1–4(5) mm wide;

margins prominently dentate to subpinnatifid; entire on those of sterile shoots;

surfaces densely pubescent with short-stalked; (2)4–9-rayed trichomes, ciliate near petiole bases with simple or 2-rayed trichomes.

linear-oblanceolate, 0.7–2 mm wide;

margins entire, ciliate proximally;

surfaces densely pubescent with simple and short-stalked; (2)3–6-rayed trichomes.

Cauline leaves

(10)20–60, often concealing stem throughout, bases uppermost auriculate and sparsely to moderately pubescent.

4–6, not concealing stem, bases auriculate; uppermost glabrous.

Inflorescences

8–30-flowered, fruiting pedicels reflexed, strongly recurved, 5–15 mm, with appressed, branched trichomes.

3–11-flowered, unbranched, fruiting pedicels ascending to divaricate-ascending; straight, 3–8 mm, glabrous.

Flowers

sexual, divaricate-ascending to pendent at anthesis;

sepals glabrous;

petals 9–14 × 1.5–3 mm, purple or rarely lavender;

pollen ellipsoid;

ovules 24–42 per ovary;

styles 0.5–1 mm.

apomictic, ascending at anthesis;

sepals glabrous or sparsely pubescent;

petals 5–6 × 1–1.7 mm, lavender, glabrous;

pollen spheroid;

ovules 58–80 per ovary;

styles 0.8–1.5 mm.

Fruits

pendent, not appressed to rachis, not secund; straight to slightly curved; (3.5)5–8 cm × 2–3 mm;

margins parallel, pubescent.

ascending to divaricate-ascending, not appressed to rachis, not secund; straight, 3.5–6.2 cm × 1.2–1.5 mm;

margins parallel, glabrous.

Seeds

uniseriate, 2.5–3.5 × 1.5–2.2 mm;

wings continuous or at both ends, 0.4–0.8 mm wide.

uniseriate, 1.1–1.3 × 0.9–1 mm;

wings continuous, 0.05–0.1 mm wide.

2n

=14.

Boechera subpinnatifida

Boechera cascadensis

Distribution
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Talus, rock outcrops, gravelly soil, sagebrush-grassland communities. Flowering Mar–Jun. 100–1800 m. Lava, Sisk. CA, ID, NV; southeast to UT. Native.

Cliffs and rocky slopes in subalpine areas. Flowering Jun–Jul. 1300–2000 m. BW. WA. Native.

A rare Pacific Northwest endemic, this species has not been collected since 1936.

Source Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 457
Ihsan Al-Shehbaz
Flora of Oregon, volume 2, page 450
Ihsan Al-Shehbaz
Sibling taxa
B. acutina, B. atrorubens, B. breweri, B. calderi, B. cascadensis, B. cobrensis, B. covillei, B. cusickii, B. davidsonii, B. divaricarpa, B. drepanoloba, B. hastatula, B. horizontalis, B. howellii, B. koehleri, B. lemmonii, B. lyallii, B. microphylla, B. paddoensis, B. pauciflora, B. paupercula, B. pendulocarpa, B. pinetorum, B. platysperma, B. pratincola, B. puberula, B. rectissima, B. retrofracta, B. rollei, B. sparsiflora, B. stricta, B. suffrutescens
B. acutina, B. atrorubens, B. breweri, B. calderi, B. cobrensis, B. covillei, B. cusickii, B. davidsonii, B. divaricarpa, B. drepanoloba, B. hastatula, B. horizontalis, B. howellii, B. koehleri, B. lemmonii, B. lyallii, B. microphylla, B. paddoensis, B. pauciflora, B. paupercula, B. pendulocarpa, B. pinetorum, B. platysperma, B. pratincola, B. puberula, B. rectissima, B. retrofracta, B. rollei, B. sparsiflora, B. stricta, B. subpinnatifida, B. suffrutescens
Synonyms Arabis subpinnatifida
Web links