E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh.
mouse-ear (mouseear cress; Thale cress)
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Virginia Skilton  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #71406)

E-Flora BC Static Map
Distribution of Arabidopsis thaliana
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Species Information

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General:
Annual herb from a slender taproot; stems 1-several, erect, 10-40 cm tall, hairy near base with simple, spreading hairs, glabrous above.
Leaves:
Mostly in basal rosette, oblanceolate, entire or minutely dentate, 1-4 cm long, with simple and branched hairs; stem leaves lanceolate, nearly unstalked, 5-20 mm long, upper ones usually glabrous.
Flowers:
In racemes; flower stalks slender, erect to ascending, 5-10 mm long; petals white, about 3 mm long, narrowly egg-shaped; sepals approximately 1.5 mm long.
Fruits:
Siliques, linear, 10-15 mm long, less than 1 mm wide, glabrous; seeds numerous, in one row, less than 1 mm long, oblong.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic to dry roadsides, gardens, fields and waste places; frequent on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and Lower Mainland, rare in SE and SC BC; introduced from Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Arabidopsis thaliana

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information
Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum

Elevation (metres) 760 870 997
Slope Gradient (%) 0 22 73
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]
90 174 270
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
1 2 4
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
C
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:
9
Modal BEC Zone Class
PP
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: ICH(2), PP(6)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Arabis thaliana L.
Sisymbrium thalianum (L.) J. Gay & Monn.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References