Boechera puberula |
Boechera laevigata |
|
---|---|---|
Blue Mountain rockcress, hoary rock-cress, silver rockcress |
smooth rockcress |
|
Habit | Perennials; short-lived; sexual; caudex not woody. | Biennials; short-lived; sexual; caudex not evident. |
Stems | usually 1 per caudex branch, arising from center of rosette near ground surface, (1–)2–6.3 dm, densely pubescent proximally, trichomes short-stalked, 3–8-rayed, 0.1–0.3(–0.5) mm, similarly pubescent distally. |
1 per plant, arising from center of rosette near ground surface, (1.5–)3–11 dm, glabrous throughout. |
Basal leaves | blade oblanceolate to linear-oblanceolate, 1.5–5 mm wide, margins usually dentate, not ciliate, surfaces densely pubescent, trichomes short-stalked, 5–12-rayed, 0.05–0.2 mm. |
blade obovate to oblanceolate, (4–)10–40 mm wide, margins serrate or dentate, ciliate-mucronate on teeth, trichomes often minute, surfaces glabrous or sparsely pubescent, trichomes simple, 0.1–0.6 mm. |
Cauline leaves | 7–45(–65), concealing stem proximally; blade auricles absent or 0.7–3 mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves pubescent. |
7–15, often concealing stem proximally; blade auricles 3–12(–17) mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves glabrous. |
Racemes | 10–40(–64)-flowered, usually unbranched. |
16–45-flowered, sometimes branched. |
Flowers | ascending to descending at anthesis; sepals pubescent; petals white to lavender, 5–9 × 0.8–1.8 mm, glabrous; pollen ellipsoid. |
ascending at anthesis; sepals glabrous; petals white, 3–5 × 1–1.5 mm, glabrous; pollen ellipsoid. |
Fruiting pedicels | pendent, recurved distal to horizontal to ascending base, 4–10 mm, pubescent, trichomes appressed, branched. |
suberect to divaricate-ascending, straight to slightly curved, 5–23 mm, glabrous. |
Fruits | closely pendent, rarely appressed to rachis, sometimes somewhat secund, usually straight, edges parallel, 3–6.5 cm × 1.9–2.2 mm; valves pubescent throughout; ovules 38–64 per ovary; style 0.05–0.1 mm. |
divaricate-ascending, not appressed to rachis, rarely somewhat secund, curved, edges parallel, (4–)6–11.7 cm × 1–2 mm; valves glabrous; ovules 50–80 per ovary; style 0.1–0.7(–1) mm. |
Seeds | uniseriate, 1.4–1.8 × 1–1.4 mm; wing continuous, 0.1–0.3 mm wide. |
uniseriate, 1.2–2.2 × 0.8–1.4 mm; wing continuous, 0.1–0.3 mm wide distally. |
2n | = 14. |
= 14. |
Boechera puberula |
Boechera laevigata |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jul. | Flowering Mar–May. |
Habitat | Ledges, rocky slopes, gravelly hillsides in sagebrush, pinyon-juniper, and mountain shrub communities | Rocky bluffs, cedar glades, wooded hillsides, floodplains |
Elevation | 1300-2900 m (4300-9500 ft) | 100-500 m (300-1600 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; NV; OR; UT
|
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; MI; MO; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; VA; VT; WI; WV; ON; QC |
Discussion | Boechera puberula is a diploid species that appears to intergrade with both B. retrofracta and B. subpinnatifida. The glabrous-fruited specimens discussed by R. C. Rollins (1993) represent apomictic hybrids with other species, primarily B. pendulocarpa. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
The taxon sometimes treated as Arabis laevigata var. missouriensis is here recognized as a separate species (Boechera missouriensis) based on its significantly longer petals (5–10 versus 3–5 mm) and distinctive, lyrate-pinnatifid basal leaves that persist well beyond anthesis. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 399. | FNA vol. 7, p. 386. |
Parent taxa | Brassicaceae > tribe Boechereae > Boechera | Brassicaceae > tribe Boechereae > Boechera |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Arabis puberula, Arabis arida, Arabis beckwithii, Arabis lignipes var. impar, Arabis sabulosa, Arabis subpinnatifida var. beckwithii, Arabis subpinnatifida var. impar, B. beckwithii | Turritis laevigata, Arabis hastata, Arabis heterophylla, Arabis laevigata, Arabis lyrifolia |
Name authority | (Nuttall) Dorn: Brittonia, 55: 3. (2003) | (Muhlenberg ex Willdenow) Al-Shehbaz: Novon 13: 386. (2003) |
Web links |
|