Boechera spatifolia |
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spoonleaf rockcress |
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Habit | Perennials; short- to long-lived; sexual; caudex usually not woody (rarely with persistent, crowded leaf bases). |
Stems | simple or few to several per caudex branch, arising from center of rosette near ground surface, 1.5–3.5(–5) dm, densely pubescent proximally, trichomes simple mixed with short-stalked ones, 2-rayed, 0.3–0.7 mm. |
Basal leaves | blade narrowly oblanceolate, 1.5–3(–4) mm wide, margins entire, strongly ciliate at least along petiole, trichomes (simple), to 1 mm, surfaces glabrous or sparsely pubescent, trichomes simple and short-stalked, 2-rayed, 0.3–0.7 mm. |
Cauline leaves | 5–15(–20), often concealing stem proximally; blade auricles 0.5–1.5 mm, surfaces of distalmost leaves usually glabrous. |
Racemes | 10–30-flowered, usually unbranched. |
Flowers | divaricate-ascending at anthesis; sepals pubescent; petals usually white, rarely pale lavender, 3–3.7(–4) × 0.5–0.8 mm, glabrous; pollen ellipsoid. |
Fruiting pedicels | horizontal or slightly descending, curved or angled downward, 6–10(–15) mm, usually glabrous, rarely sparsely pubescent, trichomes spreading, simple. |
Fruits | pendent, not appressed to rachis, rarely slightly secund, straight or gently curved, edges parallel, 3.3–5.7 cm × 1.2–1.8 mm; valves glabrous; ovules 90–126 per ovary; style 0.1–0.4 mm. |
Seeds | biseriate, 0.7–0.9 × 0.5–0.6 mm; wing distal or, sometimes, absent, 0.05–0.1 mm wide. |
2n | = 14. |
Boechera spatifolia |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Aug. |
Habitat | Rocky slopes and gravelly soil in sagebrush, pinyon-juniper woodlands, open conifer forests and subalpine meadows |
Elevation | 1800-2800 m (5900-9200 ft) |
Distribution |
CO; NM
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Discussion | Boechera spatifolia is a sexual diploid that usually has been treated as a variety of Arabis (Boechera) fendleri but appears to be sufficiently distinct to warrant recognition at species level (see M. D. Windham and I. A. Al-Shehbaz 2006 for detailed comparison). There is little geographic overlap between the two, with B. spatifolia confined to the mountains of central Colorado and north-central New Mexico and B. fendleri ranging from western New Mexico and the Four Corners region through northern Arizona to southern Nevada. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 408. |
Parent taxa | |
Sibling taxa | |
Synonyms | Arabis spatifolia, Arabis fendleri var. spatifolia, B. fendleri subsp. spatifolia, B. fendleri var. spatifolia |
Name authority | (Rydberg) Windham & Al-Shehbaz: Harvard Pap. Bot. 11: 84. (2006) |
Web links |