Common name:
Pioneer rockcress
Family:
Scientific name:
Boechera howellii
Main flower color:
Range:
California, Oregon and a small part of northwest Nevada
Height:
Up to 8 inches
Habitat:
Rocky slopes, scree, gravelly places, near or above the timberline; up to 12,500 feet
Leaves:
Entire, narrowly oblanceolate, unlobed, with glabrous faces and ciliate margins
Season:
June to August
Boechera howellii is found mainly in the Sierra Nevada and the Cascades, California and Oregon, extending to small areas of adjacent Nevada. Stems and the surfaces of the leaves are hairless, but the margins of the leaves and the leaf stalks are lined with short hairs, a mixture of simple and branched. Leaves grow at the base, and in smaller numbers (two to four) along the stem. Stem leaves have fewer marginal hairs, or none.
Stems are topped by open clusters of flowers, two to five. Petals and sepals are hairless. Petals are generally white but often tinged with purple, along the margins or throughout. Fruits are flattened, hairless pods up to 2.5 inches long, with slightly wavy edges.
Stems are topped by open clusters of flowers, two to five. Petals and sepals are hairless. Petals are generally white but often tinged with purple, along the margins or throughout. Fruits are flattened, hairless pods up to 2.5 inches long, with slightly wavy edges.
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