Boechera retrofracta (Reflexed Rock Cress) - photos and description
Basal leaf in above photo
Stem leaf in above photo
Origin: Native.
General: Biennial or perennial plant with an upright growth habit, a basal rosette of leaves and simple stems. Stems glabrous above, pubescent below, velvety to touch.
Flowers: Flowers racemose, pink when opening, then white with a purplish tinge, flower measured to 7 mm long (including calyx) and to 2 mm in diameter.
Fruit: Seed pods flattened in profile and sharply reflexed. Pods to 17 mm long.
Leaves: Lower leaves covered with small, appressed hairs, spatulate and coarsely toothed. Basal leaves 2 cm long and 6 mm wide. Stem leaves alternate, clasp the stem, linear, 2 cm long and 3 mm wide.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 60 cm, we measured plants to 34 cm tall.
Habitat: Dry slopes and prairie.
Abundance: Common.
Synonym: Listed in some of the field guides we use as Arabis retrofacta, and Arabis holboellii.
When and where photographed: Plant photographed May 13th on a steep slope of the Qu'Appelle Valley about 30 km north of Regina, SK, and May 20th on sandy prairie, Douglas Provincial Park, about 175 km northwest of our home in Regina, SK.