Scientific Name : Boechera glareosa
Author : Dorn
NatureServe Explorer
Common Name : Dorn's Rockcress
Current Research Activities
☰ Click link below for details.
Taxonomy
Brassicaceae (mustard family)
New species described in 2003 (Dorn 2003). Accepted by Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2010). Included in Ackerfield (2015, 2022) and Weber and Wittmann (2012). Not included in the PLANTS database (2019). Per Alexander (2008) Boechera glareosa = Boechera pendulina x Boechera thompsonii.
Ranks and Status
State Rank : S1
State Rank Reason : Boechera glareosa is only known from one location in Moffat County, Colorado, USA. Potential threats to the species are unknown, but it is considered vulnerable to the the effects of climate change.
U.S. Endangered Species Act : none
Colorado Threatened and Endangered List : none
Other Statuses : SWAP SGIN
Description and Phenology
General Description:
Boechera glareosa is a perennial herb with small lavender and white flowers. Stems are 10-20 cm tall, wtih spreading simple or forked hairs toward the base, becoming glabrous upward. The plants have few cauline leaves, and many basal leaves which are oblanceolate to obovate in shape, and up to 10 mm long, The fruit are widely spreading, glabrous, and 2-3 cm long (Dorn 2003).
Look Alikes:
Boechera demissa has pendulous fruit with a prominent midnerve in the lower half (B. glareosa fruit are widely spreading and the midnerve is usually lacking or obscure). Boechera gunnisoniana also has fruit with a more prominent midnerve, basal leaf hairs are mostly at least 4-branched, and the stem and stem leaves are pubescent (Dorn 2003).
Phenology:
Flowering May to June (Flora of North America 1993+, Colorado Natural Heritage Program 2012).
 |
Habitat
Ledges of conglomerate outcrops or on barren gravel pavement from disintegrating conglomerate (Dorn 2003).
click on image to enlarge
Elevation Range:
6,699 - 6,987 feet (2,042 - 2,130 meters)
Distribution
Colorado Endemic:
No
Range:
Boechera glareosa is known from one location in Moffat County, Colorado. The estimated range extent in Colorado of of less than 1 square kilometer was calculated in GeoCAT using occurrence data provided by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (2023). This species is also known from Summit and Uintah counties in Utah, USA.
Click on map to enlarge |
Threats and Management Issues
Specific threats are not known for the Colorado location. This species is considered to be vulnerable to climate change (Handwerk et al. 2015).
References
- Ackerfield, J. 2015. Flora of Colorado. BRIT Press, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, Fort Worth, TX. 818 pp.
- Alexander, Cecelia. 2008. iNaturalist observation with photograph (aspidoscelis).
- Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP). 2023. Biodiversity Tracking and Conservation System (Biotics 5). Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
- Dorn, R. D. 2003. A new species of Boechera (Brassicaceae) from Utah and Colorado. Brittonia 55(1):1-3.
- Flora of North America Editorial Committee, ed. (FNA). 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Oxford Univ. Press, New York, Oxford.
- Handwerk, J., L. Grunau, and S. Panjabi. 2015. Colorado Wildlife Action Plan: 2015 Rare Plant Addendum. Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
- Lavender, A.E., M.M. Fink, S.E. Linn, D.M. Theobald. 2011. Colorado Ownership, Management, and Protection v9 Database. Colorado Natural Heritage Program and Geospatial Centroid, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. (30 September).
- Neely, B., S. Panjabi, E. Lane, P. Lewis, C. Dawson, A. Kratz, B. Kurzel, T. Hogan, J. Handwerk, S. Krishnan, J. Neale, and N. Ripley. 2009. Colorado Rare Plant Conservation Strategy, Developed by the Colorado Rare Plant conservation Initiative. The Nature Conservancy, Boulder, Colorado, 117 pp.
- Weber, W. A. and R. C. Wittmann. 2012. Colorado Flora, Western Slope, A Field Guide to the Vascular Plants, Fourth Edition. Boulder, Colorado. 532 pp.
