Boechera depauperata
Soldier rockcress
Family: Brassicaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Soldier rockcress is a California native perennial found in southern Sierra Nevada and White and Inyo Mountains on exposed ridges and talus slopes in subalpine and alpine habitats at elevations of 2,650 to 3,900 meters. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces lavender to purple flowers approximately 3.5 to 5 millimeters long. Growing with slender stems less than 15 centimeters tall, it emerges from a slightly woody caudex with short, multi-rayed hairs. Its basal leaves are narrow, 0.7 to 3 millimeters wide, with distinctive short-stalked, 5 to 8-rayed hairs covering the surface. The fruit is a long, spreading pod 1.7 to 4.5 centimeters in length, containing 32 to 44 seeds arranged in a single row.
Habitat: Exposed ridges, talus slopes, in subalpine, alpine habitats
Bloom period: Jun-Jul
Elevation: 2650-3900 m
Bioregions: s SNH, W&I
California counties: Inyo, Tulare, Mono, Alpine, Fresno, Madera, Tuolumne, Shasta, El Dorado, Placer
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.