Boechera peirsonii |
Boechera perennans |
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Peirson's rockcress, San Bernardino Rock cress |
perennial rockcress |
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Habit | Perennials; long-lived; (cespitose); apomictic; caudex woody. | Perennials; long-lived; sexual; caudex woody. |
Stems | usually 1 per caudex branch, arising from center of rosette near ground surface, 1–2.5 dm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent proximally, trichomes short-stalked, 2–5-rayed (rarely, some simple), 0.4–0.6 mm, glabrous distally. |
usually 2–5 per caudex branch, arising laterally proximal to sterile shoots or rosette, often elevated above ground surface on woody base, (1.5–)2–7 dm, densely pubescent proximally, trichomes short-stalked, Y-shaped, 0.2–0.4 mm, often mixed with 3–5-rayed or (rarely) simple ones, usually glabrous distally. |
Basal leaves | blade oblanceolate, 2.5–6 mm wide, margins entire, ciliate proximally, trichomes (simple), surfaces densely pubescent, trichomes short-stalked, 4–7-rayed, 0.3–0.5 mm. |
blade oblanceolate to obovate, 3–15(–20) mm wide, margins dentate, ciliate proximally, trichomes to 1.2 mm, surfaces moderately to densely pubescent, trichomes short-stalked, 3–6-rayed, 0.2–0.4 mm. |
Cauline leaves | 3–12, often concealing stem proximally; blade auricles 0.5–2 mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves usually glabrous, sometimes margins ciliate. |
4–12(–17), not concealing stem; blade auricles 0.5–3.5 mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves glabrous. |
Racemes | 12–25-flowered, usually unbranched. |
16–35-flowered, usually unbranched. |
Flowers | ascending at anthesis; sepals pubescent; petals purple, 5–6 × 1.5–2 mm, glabrous; pollen spheroid. |
ascending at anthesis; sepals pubescent; petals white to purplish, 5–9 × 1–1.5 mm, glabrous or sparsely pubescent (occasionally some trichomes abaxially); pollen ellipsoid. |
Fruiting pedicels | ascending to divaricate-descending, straight, 2–6 mm, glabrous. |
usually horizontal, straight or slightly recurved, (6–)10–25 mm, usually glabrous. |
Fruits | ascending to divaricate-ascending, not appressed to rachis, not secund, straight, edges parallel, 2–3.7 cm × 2–2.8 mm; valves glabrous; ovules 56–80 per ovary; style 0.1–0.3 mm. |
widely pendent, not appressed to rachis, not secund, usually curved, edges parallel, (3–)4–7 cm × 1.7–2.1 mm; valves glabrous; ovules 60–96 per ovary; style 0.05–0.4 mm. |
Seeds | uniseriate, 1–1.5 × 0.8–1 mm; wing distal or continuous, 0.05–0.1 mm wide. |
uniseriate, 1.1–1.5 × 0.9–1.2 mm; wing continuous, 0.1–0.2 mm wide. |
2n | = 14. |
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Boechera peirsonii |
Boechera perennans |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Sep. | Flowering Feb–May. |
Habitat | Granitic ledges and talus slopes | Rocky slopes and gravelly soil in warm desert, chaparral, low montane habitats |
Elevation | 2700-3400 m (8900-11200 ft) | 200-1700 m (700-5600 ft) |
Distribution |
CA |
AZ; CA; NM; NV; TX; UT; Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Sonora)
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Discussion | Boechera peirsonii is an apomictic species of unknown origin; although previously treated as a variety of Arabis (B.) breweri, it is quite distinct from that taxon (see M. D. Windham and I. A. Al-Shehbaz 2007 for detailed comparison). All known collections come from the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California, ca. 200 km distant from the nearest populations of B. breweri. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The circumscription of Boechera perennans followed here is much narrower than that adopted by R. C. Rollins (1993). The most significant difference is the removal of Arabis gracilenta. Recent studies (M. D. Windham and Allphin, in prep.) indicate that the latter represents an older name for the species usually called A. (Boechera) selbyi. Although superficially similar, B. perennans is distinguished from B. gracilenta by having stems arising from above ground surface on woody bases, proximal stems with mostly Y-shaped trichomes, strongly dentate margins on basal leaves, and uniseriate seeds. Typically, B. perennans is a sexual diploid largely restricted to the warm deserts of Arizona, California, Nevada, and southern New Mexico. Plants of B. gracilenta are scattered across the Colorado Plateau (northeast of the range of B. perennans) and are apomictic triploids, apparently produced by hybridization between B. fendleri and B. pallidifolia. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 394. | FNA vol. 7, p. 396. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Arabis breweri var. pecuniaria | Arabis perennans, Arabis angulata, Arabis arcuata var. perennans, Arabis eremophila, Arabis recondita |
Name authority | Windham & Al-Shehbaz: Harvard Pap. Bot. 11: 270. (2007) | (S. Watson) W. A. Weber: Phytologia 51: 370. (1982) |
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