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collin's suncress, Collins' rockcress

Cascade rock-cress, Cascade suncress, Cascades rockcress, littleleaf rockcress

Habit Perennials; usually short-lived; sexual; caudex not woody. Perennials; long-lived; (cespitose); apomictic; caudex somewhat woody.
Stems

usually 1 per caudex branch, arising from center of rosette near ground surface, (1.5–)2.5–8 dm, densely pubescent proximally, trichomes simple and short-stalked, 2-rayed, to 1 mm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous 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 oblanceolate, 1–7 mm wide, margins entire or dentate, ciliate along petiole, trichomes (simple), to 0.7 mm, surfaces moderately to densely pubescent, trichomes short-stalked, 5–8-rayed, 0.15–0.4 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

(8–)15–40, concealing stem proximally;

blade auricles 1–3 mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves usually sparsely pubescent.

4–6, not concealing stem;

blade auricles 0.5–1 mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves glabrous.

Racemes

(15–)30–90-flowered, usually unbranched.

3–11-flowered, unbranched.

Flowers

descending to pendent at anthesis;

sepals pubescent;

petals usually white, rarely lavender, 4–6 × 0.8–1.5 mm, glabrous;

pollen ellipsoid.

ascending at anthesis;

sepals glabrous or sparsely pubescent;

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

pollen spheroid.

Fruiting pedicels

reflexed, abruptly recurved at base, otherwise straight, 4–13 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, trichomes usually simple.

ascending to divaricate-ascending, straight, 3–8 mm, glabrous.

Fruits

strongly reflexed, usually appressed to rachis, rarely somewhat secund, straight, edges parallel, 3.5–6 cm × 0.9–1.5 mm;

valves glabrous;

ovules 70–126 per ovary;

style 0.2–0.5 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, 1–1.4 × 0.8–1 mm;

wing continuous (rarely absent), to 0.1 mm wide.

uniseriate, 1.1–1.3 × 0.9–1 mm;

wing continuous, 0.05–0.1 mm wide.

2n

= 14.

Boechera collinsii

Boechera cascadensis

Phenology Flowering May–Jun. Flowering Jun.
Habitat Rocky and gravelly hillsides, prairies, open woods, floodplains Basaltic cliffs and rocky slopes in subalpine areas
Elevation 600-1400 m (2000-4600 ft) ca. 1900 m (ca. 6200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
ID; MN; MT; ND; NE; SD; WY; AB; MB; QC; SK
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
OR; WA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Though often treated as a variety of Arabis (Boechera) holboellii (e.g., R. C. Rollins 1993; G. A. Mulligan 1996), B. collinsii is easily distinguished from that species by having simple and 2-rayed (versus 4–8-rayed) trichomes proximally on stems, and narrower (0.9–1.5 versus 2–2.5 mm) usually non-secund fruits. The two taxa also show allopatric distributions, with B. collinsii found on the North American continent (usually east of the Rocky Mountains) and B. holboellii apparently confined to Greenland.

(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. 370. FNA vol. 7, p. 369.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Boechereae > Boechera Brassicaceae > tribe Boechereae > Boechera
Sibling taxa
B. acutina, B. arcuata, B. atrorubens, B. bodiensis, B. breweri, B. burkii, B. calderi, B. californica, B. canadensis, B. cascadensis, B. cobrensis, B. consanguinea, B. constancei, B. covillei, B. crandallii, B. cusickii, B. davidsonii, B. dentata, B. depauperata, B. dispar, B. divaricarpa, B. drepanoloba, B. duchesnensis, B. elkoensis, B. evadens, B. falcatoria, B. falcifructa, B. fecunda, B. fendleri, B. fernaldiana, B. formosa, B. fructicosa, B. glareosa, B. glaucovalvula, B. goodrichii, B. gracilenta, B. gracilipes, B. grahamii, B. gunnisoniana, B. harrisonii, B. hastatula, B. hoffmannii, B. holboellii, B. horizontalis, B. howellii, B. inyoensis, B. johnstonii, B. koehleri, B. laevigata, B. languida, B. lasiocarpa, B. lemmonii, B. lignifera, B. lincolnensis, B. lyallii, B. macounii, B. microphylla, B. missouriensis, B. nevadensis, B. ophira, B. oxylobula, B. paddoensis, B. pallidifolia, B. parishii, B. pauciflora, B. paupercula, B. peirsonii, B. pendulina, B. pendulocarpa, B. perennans, B. perstellata, B. pinetorum, B. pinzliae, B. platysperma, B. polyantha, B. porphyrea, B. pratincola, B. puberula, B. pulchra, B. pusilla, B. pygmaea, B. quebecensis, B. rectissima, B. repanda, B. retrofracta, B. rigidissima, B. rollei, B. rollinsiorum, B. rubicundula, B. saximontana, B. schistacea, B. serotina, B. serpenticola, B. shevockii, B. shockleyi, B. sparsiflora, B. spatifolia, B. stricta, B. subpinnatifida, B. suffrutescens, B. texana, B. tiehmii, B. tularensis, B. ultra-alsa, B. villosa, B. williamsii, B. xylopoda, B. yorkii
B. acutina, B. arcuata, B. atrorubens, B. bodiensis, B. breweri, B. burkii, B. calderi, B. californica, B. canadensis, B. cobrensis, B. collinsii, B. consanguinea, B. constancei, B. covillei, B. crandallii, B. cusickii, B. davidsonii, B. dentata, B. depauperata, B. dispar, B. divaricarpa, B. drepanoloba, B. duchesnensis, B. elkoensis, B. evadens, B. falcatoria, B. falcifructa, B. fecunda, B. fendleri, B. fernaldiana, B. formosa, B. fructicosa, B. glareosa, B. glaucovalvula, B. goodrichii, B. gracilenta, B. gracilipes, B. grahamii, B. gunnisoniana, B. harrisonii, B. hastatula, B. hoffmannii, B. holboellii, B. horizontalis, B. howellii, B. inyoensis, B. johnstonii, B. koehleri, B. laevigata, B. languida, B. lasiocarpa, B. lemmonii, B. lignifera, B. lincolnensis, B. lyallii, B. macounii, B. microphylla, B. missouriensis, B. nevadensis, B. ophira, B. oxylobula, B. paddoensis, B. pallidifolia, B. parishii, B. pauciflora, B. paupercula, B. peirsonii, B. pendulina, B. pendulocarpa, B. perennans, B. perstellata, B. pinetorum, B. pinzliae, B. platysperma, B. polyantha, B. porphyrea, B. pratincola, B. puberula, B. pulchra, B. pusilla, B. pygmaea, B. quebecensis, B. rectissima, B. repanda, B. retrofracta, B. rigidissima, B. rollei, B. rollinsiorum, B. rubicundula, B. saximontana, B. schistacea, B. serotina, B. serpenticola, B. shevockii, B. shockleyi, B. sparsiflora, B. spatifolia, B. stricta, B. subpinnatifida, B. suffrutescens, B. texana, B. tiehmii, B. tularensis, B. ultra-alsa, B. villosa, B. williamsii, B. xylopoda, B. yorkii
Synonyms Arabis collinsii, Arabis holboellii var. collinsii, Arabis retrofracta var. collinsii Arabis microphylla var. thompsonii
Name authority (Fernald) Á. Löve & D. Löve: Taxon 31: 125. (1982) Windham & Al-Shehbaz: Harvard Pap. Bot. 11: 260. (2007)
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