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beautiful rockcress, bigfoot hybrid rockcress

Habit Perennials; long-lived; (some-what cespitose); apomictic; caudex often woody. Perennials; long-lived; apomictic; caudex woody.
Stems

usually 3–7 per caudex branch, arising from margin of rosette near ground surface, 0.5–2.5 dm, usually sparsely pubescent proximally, rarely glabrous, trichomes short-stalked, 2- or 3-rayed, 0.06–0.2 mm, glabrous distally.

usually 1 from per caudex branch, arising from center of leaf tuft, elevated above ground surface on woody base, (3–)5–7.5 dm, pubescent proximally, trichomes short-stalked, 2–5-rayed, 0.25–0.9 mm., similarly pubescent distally.

Basal leaves

blade narrowly oblanceolate, 2–4 mm wide, margins entire or somewhat dentate, ciliate near petiole base, trichomes (simple), to 0.5 mm, surfaces sparsely pubescent, trichomes short-stalked, 2–5-rayed, 0.1–0.25 mm.

blade linear-oblanceolate to oblanceolate, 3–7 mm wide, margins entire or somewhat dentate, ciliate near petiole base, trichomes (simple), to 1.5 mm, surfaces densely pubescent, trichomes short-stalked, 4–8-rayed, 0.15–0.5 mm.

Cauline leaves

3–7, not concealing stem;

blade auricles 0.5–1.5 mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves glabrous.

8–18, usually not concealing stem;

blade auricles 1–2 mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves sparsely pubescent.

Racemes

5–12-flowered, usually unbranched.

20–38-flowered, usually unbranched.

Flowers

ascending at anthesis;

sepals pubescent;

petals lavender, 5–7.5 × 0.8–1.5 mm, glabrous;

pollen spheroid.

divaricate to pendent at anthesis;

sepals pubescent;

petals purple, 9–12 × 2–3.5 mm, sparsely pubescent (often some trichomes abaxially);

pollen spheroid.

Fruiting pedicels

divaricate-ascending, straight, 8–12 mm, glabrous.

descending-divaricate, usually recurved, 9–20 mm, usually pubescent, rarely glabrous, trichomes subappressed, branched.

Fruits

usually divaricate-ascending, rarely nearly horizontal, not appressed to rachis, not secund, curved to straight, edges parallel, 3–4.7 cm × 1–1.5 mm;

valves glabrous;

ovules 64–86 per ovary;

style 0.2–0.5 mm.

reflexed, not appressed to rachis, not secund, straight, edges parallel, 5–7 cm × 2–2.5 mm;

valves glabrous proximally, sparsely pubescent distally;

ovules 98–126 per ovary;

style 0.1–0.5 mm.

Seeds

uniseriate, 1.1–1.3 × 0.8–1.1 mm;

wing continuous, 0.08–0.1 mm wide.

sub-biseriate, 2–2.5 × 1.3–1.6 mm;

wing continuous, 0.2–0.25 mm wide.

Boechera harrisonii

Boechera xylopoda

Phenology Flowering May–Jun. Flowering Mar–May.
Habitat Limestone and quartzite cliffs Rock outcrops and gravelly slopes, often under shelter of shrubs in desert scrub, sagebrush, and chaparral communities
Elevation 1500-1600 m (4900-5200 ft) 900-2000 m (3000-6600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
UT
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Morphological evidence suggests that Boechera harrisonii is an apomictic species that arose through hybridization between B. microphylla and B. perennans (see M. D. Windham and I. A. Al-Shehbaz 2007 for detailed comparison). Boechera harrisonii is known only from Utah and Wasatch counties in north-central Utah.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Although usually treated as a variety of Arabis (Boechera) pulchra, B. xylopoda is an apomictic taxon that is morphologically intermediate between B. perennans and B. pulchra (see M. D. Windham and I. A. Al-Shehbaz 2007b for detailed comparison) and probably arose through hybridization between those two sexual diploids.

Arabis trichopoda Greene (1908), not Turczaninow (1840) is an illegitimate name, sometimes found in synonymy with Boechera xylopoda.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 383. FNA vol. 7, p. 411.
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. 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. 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. cascadensis, 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. yorkii
Synonyms Arabis harrisonii, B. microphylla var. harrisonii Arabis pulchra var. gracilis, Arabis pulchra var. glabrescens, Arabis pulchra var. viridis, B. pulchra var. gracilis
Name authority (S. L. Welsh) Windham & Al-Shehbaz: Harvard Pap. Bot. 11: 266. (2007) Windham & Al-Shehbaz: Harvard Pap. Bot. 12: 250. (2007)
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