Boechera grahamii (Purple Rock Cress) - photos and description
Basal rosette of leaves
Stem leaf
Basal leaf
Leaves with starry hairs
General: Slender biennial with a rosette of basal leaves. Upper stem glabrous, lower stem starry hairy. Stems have some purple colouring.
Flowers: Flowers are small, with 4 petals, light purple when opening, white when fully open. Flowers were measured at 5 mm in diameter.
Leaves: Stem leaves alternate, clasping, oblanceolate to lanceolate, the stem leaf highlighted above was 20 mm long and 5 mm wide. Basal leaves are entire, oval, the basal leaf highlighted in the photo above was 25 mm long (including petiole) and 7 mm wide. Leaves are starry hairy.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora from to 50 cm, we measured plants to 32 cm tall.
Habitat: Prairie and hillsides in southern Saskatchewan.
Abundance: Common.
Origin: Native.
Synonym: Listed in many of the field guides we use as Arabis divaricarpa.
How to identify this species of Arabis: Examine the position of the pods to identify this species of Arabis, the pods are spread apart, some ascending, some descending (Taxonomic Reminder for Recognizing Saskatchewan Plants).
When and where photographed: The above photos were taken April 30th and May 7th, grassy slope and prairie, Buffalo Grass Eco Reserve, about 200 km southeast of our home in Regina, SK.