Boechera dentata |
Boechera gracilipes |
|
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Short's rockcress |
|
|
Habit | Biennials; short-lived; sexual; caudex present or absent. | Biennials or perennials; short-lived; sexual; caudex present or absent. |
Stems | usually 2–4 per plant or caudex branch, arising from margin of rosette near ground surface, or arising laterally proximal to sterile shoots, 2–6 dm, pubescent proximally, trichomes short-stalked, 2–4-rayed, 0.15–0.4 mm, sparsely pubescent or glabrous distally. |
usually 1 per caudex branch, arising from center of rosette near ground surface, rarely arising laterally proximal to sterile shoots, 2.5–8.5 dm, densely pubescent proximally, trichomes simple or spurred, 0.9–1.5 mm, glabrous distally. |
Basal leaves | blade obovate to oblanceolate, (6–)10–45 mm wide, margins dentate, not ciliate, surfaces sparsely pubescent, abaxially trichomes short-stalked, 3- or 4-rayed, 0.15–0.4 mm, adaxially simple ones, 0.4–1 mm. |
blade oblanceolate, 5–12 mm wide, margins shallowly dentate, sometimes ciliate near petiole base, surfaces sparsely to densely pubescent, trichomes short- to long-stalked, 2- or 3-rayed, usually 0.3–0.6 mm. |
Cauline leaves | 4–20, rarely concealing stem; blade auricles 1–8 mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves sparsely pubescent. |
30–65, often concealing stem proximally; blade auricles 0.8–3 mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves usually glabrous. |
Racemes | 14–66-flowered, sparingly branched. |
(12–)15–50-flowered, usually unbranched. |
Flowers | divaricate at anthesis; sepals glabrous or sparsely pubescent; petals white or cream, 2–3.5 × 0.7–1 mm, glabrous; pollen ellipsoid. |
ascending at anthesis; sepals pubescent; petals white to pale lavender, 6–9 × 0.6–1 mm; valves glabrous; pollen ellipsoid. |
Fruiting pedicels | divaricate-ascending to slightly descending, straight, 1–6 mm, glabrous or pubescent, trichomes appressed, branched. |
divaricate-ascending or horizontal, recurved, (15–)20–47 mm, glabrous. |
Fruits | divaricate-ascending to slightly descending, not appressed to rachis, not secund, straight or slightly curved, edges parallel, 1.3–4.2 cm × 0.7–0.8 mm; valves usually sparsely pubescent throughout, rarely glabrous; ovules 14–44 per ovary; style 0.1–0.5 mm. |
widely pendent, not appressed to rachis, not secund, curved, edges parallel, (2.5–)3–7.5 cm × 1.5–2.8 mm, glabrous; ovules 130–210 per ovary; style 0.2–0.5 mm. |
Seeds | uniseriate, 0.7–1.1 × 0.5–0.6 mm; not winged. |
biseriate, 1.2–1.4 × 0.7–0.9 mm; wing continuous or distal, to 0.2 mm wide. |
Boechera dentata |
Boechera gracilipes |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jun. | Flowering Apr–Jun. |
Habitat | Bluffs and rocky ledges, wooded slopes, floodplains | Basalt, limestone, and sandy soils in ponderosa pine forests and pinyon-juniper woodlands |
Elevation | 100-300 m (300-1000 ft) | 1700-2300 m (5600-7500 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; AR; DC; IA; IL; IN; KS; KY; MD; MI; MN; MO; NE; NY; OH; OK; PA; SD; TN; VA; WI; WV; ON
|
AZ; NV; UT |
Discussion | Sisymbrium dentatum Torrey is an illegitimate name that pertains to Iodanthus dentatus. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Fruiting pedicel length, considered diagnostic by R. C. Rollins (1993) and N. H. Holmgren (2005b), occasionally fails to separate Boechera gracilipes from the closely-related B. fendleri. The two are consistently distinguished by trichome characters. In B. gracilipes, basal leaves usually lack prominent cilia and surfaces are persistently pubescent with at least some 3-rayed trichomes. Also, stems are rather densely pilose proximally, with the largest trichomes more than 0.9 mm. By contrast, basal leaves of B. fendleri always have prominent cilia, surfaces are often glabrescent, and 3-rayed trichomes usually are rare or absent. Stems of the latter are proximally hirsute to hispid, with the largest trichomes less than 0.9 mm. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 373. | FNA vol. 7, p. 381. |
Parent taxa | Brassicaceae > tribe Boechereae > Boechera | Brassicaceae > tribe Boechereae > Boechera |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Shortia dentata, Arabis dentata var. phalacrocarpa, Arabis perstellata var. shortii, Arabis shortii, Arabis shortii var. phalacrocarpa, B. shortii, Iodanthus dentatus | Arabis gracilipes, Arabis arcuata var. longipes, Arabis perennans var. longipes |
Name authority | (Rafinesque) Al-Shehbaz & Zarucchi: Harvard Pap. Bot. 13: 293. (2008) | (Greene) Dorn: Brittonia 55: 3. (2003) |
Web links |