General:
Biennial or short-lived perennial herb from a simple stem-base; stems usually simple, 15-100 cm tall, strongly stiff-hairy at the base, usually glabrous above.
Leaves:
Basal leaves oblanceolate, 2-8 cm long, 1-1.5 cm wide, narrowed to a fringed, winged stalk, often purplish beneath, glabrous to hairy, remotely toothed; stem leaves broadly egg-shaped, 2-10 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, broadly unstalked, usually ear-like at the bases and clasping.
Flowers:
Racemes few to many flowered; petals 4-9 mm long, white to cream or pale pink; outer sepals bulging on one side at the base.
Fruits:
Siliques, erect, tightly appressed to the axis of the inflorescence or angled slightly outward, 4-8 cm long, 0.75-1.5 mm wide; seeds in 1 row, 1.5 mm long, with narrow wings.
Notes:
All of our BC material is referable to the var. pycnocarpa (Hopkins) Roll., except for a single collection of the European var. hirsuta, from Glacier National Park.. The two varieties may be separated as follows:
1. Plants perennials; siliques beakless.......................... var. hirsuta
1. Plants biennials or short-lived perennials; siliques with a beak 0.5-1.25 mm long........................... var. pycnocarpa (Hopkins) Roll.
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Arabis hirsuta var. pycnocarpa (M. Hopkins) Rollins