Boechera arcuata |
Boechera cascadensis |
|
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arching rockcress, elegant rockcress |
Cascade rock-cress, Cascade suncress, Cascades rockcress, littleleaf rockcress |
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Habit | Perennials; usually long-lived; sexual; caudex often woody (well-developed). | Perennials; long-lived; (cespitose); apomictic; caudex somewhat woody. |
Stems | usually 1 per caudex branch, arising from center of rosette, elevated on woody base or from ground surface, (2–)3–8 dm, densely pubescent proximally, trichomes short-stalked, 2-rayed and simple, to 1 mm, pubescent distally. |
usually 1 per caudex branch, arising from center of rosette near ground surface, 0.5–2.2 dm, sparsely pubescent proximally, trichomes simple and short-stalked, 2- or 3-rayed, 0.1–0.2 mm, glabrous distally. |
Basal leaves | blade linear to oblanceolate, 2–7(–12) mm wide, margins usually entire, rarely denticulate, ciliate along petiole, trichomes to 1.5 mm, surfaces densely pubescent, trichomes usually short-stalked, 2–5-rayed (rarely some simple), 0.4–0.8 mm. |
blade linear-oblanceolate, 0.7–2 mm wide, margins entire, ciliate proximally, trichomes to 0.4 mm, surfaces densely pubescent, trichomes short-stalked, (2- or) 3–6-rayed, 0.05–0.2(–0.3) mm. |
Cauline leaves | 10–30(–45), often concealing stem proximally; blade auricles 2–5(–6) mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves pubescent. |
4–6, not concealing stem; blade auricles 0.5–1 mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves glabrous. |
Racemes | 12–50(–70)-flowered, usually unbranched. |
3–11-flowered, unbranched. |
Flowers | ascending at anthesis; sepals pubescent; petals purple, 9–14 × 2–4 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent (trichomes abaxially); pollen ellipsoid. |
ascending at anthesis; sepals glabrous or sparsely pubescent; petals lavender, 5–6 × 1–1.7 mm, glabrous; pollen spheroid. |
Fruiting pedicels | usually divaricate-ascending, rarely horizontal, gently recurved or straight, 8–22 mm, pubescent, trichomes subappressed, 2–4-rayed. |
ascending to divaricate-ascending, straight, 3–8 mm, glabrous. |
Fruits | usually divaricate-ascending, rarely horizontal, not appressed to rachis, not secund, usually curved, edges parallel, (6–)8–13 cm × 1.5–2.2 mm; valves glabrous or trichomes relatively few, scattered; ovules 90–250 per ovary; style 0.01–0.5 mm. |
ascending to divaricate-ascending, not appressed to rachis, not secund, straight, edges parallel, 3.5–6.2 cm × 1.2–1.5 mm; valves glabrous; ovules 58–80 per ovary; style 0.8–1.5 mm. |
Seeds | uniseriate or sub-biseriate, 1.5–1.7 × 1–1.2 mm; wing continuous, 0.1–0.2 mm wide. |
uniseriate, 1.1–1.3 × 0.9–1 mm; wing continuous, 0.05–0.1 mm wide. |
Boechera arcuata |
Boechera cascadensis |
|
Phenology | Flowering Mar–Jun. | Flowering Jun. |
Habitat | Rocky hillsides and cliffs in pine forests and chaparral | Basaltic cliffs and rocky slopes in subalpine areas |
Elevation | 300-1800 m (1000-5900 ft) | ca. 1900 m (ca. 6200 ft) |
Distribution |
CA
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OR; WA |
Discussion | Although usually treated as a variety of Arabis (Boechera) sparsiflora (e.g., R. C. Rollins 1993), B. arcuata is easily distinguished from that species by having rachises and fruiting pedicels pubescent with subappressed, 2–4-rayed trichomes and a geographic range limited to southern and western California. By contrast, B. sparsiflora has rachises and fruiting pedicels with spreading, usually simple trichomes (sometimes glabrescent) and an allopatric distribution north and east of the Sierra Nevada. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Of conservation concern. Morphological evidence suggests that Boechera cascadensis is an apomictic species that arose through hybridization between B. microphylla and B. paupercula (see M. D. Windham and I. A. Al-Shehbaz 2007 for detailed comparison). It is known from two collections: the type specimens from Kittitas County, Washington, and a more recent collection from Baker County, Oregon. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 365. | FNA vol. 7, p. 369. |
Parent taxa | Brassicaceae > tribe Boechereae > Boechera | Brassicaceae > tribe Boechereae > Boechera |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Streptanthus arcuatus, Arabis holboellii var. arcuata, Arabis maxima, Arabis sparsiflora var. arcuata | Arabis microphylla var. thompsonii |
Name authority | (Nuttall) Windham & Al-Shehbaz: Harvard Pap. Bot. 11: 64. (2006) | Windham & Al-Shehbaz: Harvard Pap. Bot. 11: 260. (2007) |
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