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boechera paupercula, littleleaf rockcress, small-flower rock-cress, tiny suncress

Davidson's rock-cress

Habit Perennials; long-lived; (cespitose); sexual; caudex often woody. Perennials; long-lived; (cespitose); sexual; caudex woody (thickly covered by persistent, crowded leaf bases).
Stems

usually 1 per caudex branch, arising from center of rosette near ground surface, 0.3–1.5 dm, densely pubescent proximally, trichomes simple and short-stalked, 2–4-rayed, (0.07–)0.1–0.2 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent distally.

usually 1 per caudex branch, arising from center of rosette near ground surface, 0.6–2.3 dm, glabrous throughout.

Basal leaves

blade linear-oblanceolate, 1–3(–5) mm wide, margins entire, ciliate proximally, trichomes to 0.4 mm, surfaces densely pubescent, trichomes short-stalked, 2–6-rayed, (0.07–)0.1–0.2 mm.

blade oblanceolate, 3.5–14 mm wide, margins usually entire, rarely slightly dentate, not ciliate, surfaces glabrous.

Cauline leaves

2–6, rarely concealing stem;

blade auricles 0 (or 0.2–1.5) mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves glabrous.

3–10, not concealing stem;

blade auricles absent, glabrous.

Racemes

3–8-flowered, unbranched.

4–24-flowered, usually unbranched.

Flowers

erect at anthesis;

sepals glabrous or sparsely pubescent;

petals lavender to purplish, 4–6(–7) × 1–2 mm, glabrous;

pollen ellipsoid.

ascending at anthesis;

sepals glabrous;

petals white to lavender, 6–10 × 2.5–4 mm, glabrous;

pollen ellipsoid.

Fruiting pedicels

erect, straight, 3–9 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.

ascending, straight, 3–18 mm, glabrous.

Fruits

erect, appressed to rachis, not secund, straight, edges parallel, 2.5–5.5 cm × 1.3–1.7(–2) mm;

valves glabrous;

ovules 24–40 per ovary;

style 0.2–1 mm.

ascending to divaricate-ascending, not appressed to rachis, not secund, straight to slightly curved, edges parallel, 2.5–7 cm × 1.5–2.5 mm;

valves glabrous;

ovules 28–50 per ovary;

style 0.1–0.8 mm.

Seeds

usually uniseriate, rarely sub-biseriate, 1.5–2(–2.5) × 1–1.4 mm;

wing continuous, 0.3–1 mm wide.

uniseriate, 1.8–2.2 × 0.8–1.7 mm;

wing distal or continuous, 0.1–0.5 mm wide.

Boechera paupercula

Boechera davidsonii

Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug. Flowering Apr–Jul.
Habitat Rock outcrops, talus slopes, gravelly soil in alpine and subalpine habitats Ledges and crevices of rock outcrops
Elevation 2400-3400 m (7900-11200 ft) 1200-3400 m (3900-11200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; ID; OR; WA; WY
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Boechera paupercula is usually subsumed under Arabis (Boechera) lyallii but is amply distinct (see M. D. Windham and I. A. Al-Shehbaz 2006 for detailed comparison).

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

Plants of Boechera davidsonii sometimes are confused with completely glabrous individuals of B. lyallii, and G. A. Mulligan (1996) treated it as a synonym of the latter. It is easily distinguished from B. lyallii by the thick covering of persistent leaf bases on caudex branches, ascending (versus erect and appressed) fruits, and uniseriate (versus biseriate to sub-biseriate) seeds. Boechera davidsonii is nearly unique among western North American species of the genus in showing no evidence of hybridization with other species.

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

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 394. FNA vol. 7, p. 372.
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. 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. 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. 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 paupercula, Arabis lyallii var. nubigena, Arabis microphylla var. nubigena, Arabis nubigena Arabis davidsonii, Arabis bruceae, Arabis cognata, Arabis davidsonii var. parva, Arabis lyallii var. davidsonii
Name authority (Greene) Windham & Al-Shehbaz: Harvard Pap. Bot. 11: 75. (2006) (Greene) N. H. Holmgren: in A. Cronquist et al., Intermount. Fl. 2(B): 368. (2005)
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