Boechera retrofracta Graham
dangling suncress
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
dangling suncress
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
© Lori Aull (Photo ID #13930)
Species Information
General:
Biennial or short-lived perennial herb from a simple or branched stem-base; stems 1-several, simple or branched, 0.1-1.0 m tall, hairy basally, usually glabrous above.
Leaves:
Basal leaves in a prominent rosette, oblanceolate, 1-5 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, narrowed to slender stalk, usually densely grey-hairy; stem leaves 1-3 cm long, 2-7 mm wide, unstalked, ear-like at the bases, narrowly oblong to linear, hairy.
Flowers:
Racemes many-flowered, greatly elongated in fruit; petals white to purple, 6-10 mm long; sepals not bulging on one side at the base.
Fruits:
Siliques, drooping or directed downward due to abruptly bent stalks, 3-6 cm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, straight or slightly curved; seeds in 1 row, about 2 mm long, with very narrow wings less than 0.5 mm wide.
Illustration
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
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Boechera retrofracta
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)
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 |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
900 | 900 | 900 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
20 | 20 | 20 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
174 | 174 | 174 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
3 | 3 | 3 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
D | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
1 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
PP | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
PP(1) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Mesic to dry rocky slopes, gravelly areas, shrublands and grasslands in the steppe to alpine zones; var. pinetorum rare in S BC, var. secunda infrequent in C and S BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains, var. retrofracta common throughout BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains (probably introduced on the coast), var. consanguinea infrequent throughout BC east of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; N to AK, YT and NT, E to PQ and ON and S to ND, SD, WY, UT, NV and CA; Greenland.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Arabis holboellii var. retrofracta (Graham) Rydb.