''Boechera dispar'' is a species of flowering plant in the family
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae () or (the older but equally valid) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important Family (biology), family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous pla ...
known by the common name pinyon rockcress. It is native to eastern
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
and western
Nevada
Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
, where it grows in rocky areas in desert and mountain habitat. This is a perennial herb growing from a branching
caudex
A caudex (: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695
In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is most ...
. It produces several erect stems reaching 10 to 25 centimeters tall. The leaves are mostly located about the caudex. They are linear to lance-shaped, coated in white hairs, and one or two centimeters long. The flowers have purple petals. The fruit is a long, narrow, hairless
silique
A silique or siliqua (plural ''siliques'' or ''siliquae'') is a type of fruit (seed capsule) having two fused carpels with the length being more than three times the width. When the length is less than three times the width of the dried fruit ...
up to 7 centimeters long containing round, winged seeds.
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants Profile
dispar
Flora of California
Flora of Nevada
Plants described in 1898
Flora of Northern America
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
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