Boechera divaricarpa

Spreadingpod rockcress, Spreadingpod Rockcress

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Spreadingpod rockcress is a California native perennial found in the high Cascade Range and Modoc Plateau on rock outcrops, talus slopes, and gravelly hillsides at elevations of 900 to 2,200 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces lavender to purple flowers approximately 6 to 9 millimeters long with petals 1.5 to 3 millimeters wide. Growing with slender stems 30 to 90 centimeters tall, the plant emerges from a short-lived caudex with stems bearing simple and star-shaped hairs near the base. Its basal leaves are 2 to 10 millimeters wide, entire or minutely toothed, with sessile star-shaped hairs, while cauline leaves range from 15 to 56 millimeters long. The fruit is distinctive, with spreading-ascending pods 4.5 to 11 centimeters long and 1.7 to 2.5 millimeters wide, containing 114 to 142 seeds.

Habitat: rock outcrops, talus slopes, gravelly hillsides

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 900-2200 m

Bioregions: CaRH, MP

California counties: Alpine, Modoc, Siskiyou, Trinity, Sierra, Placer, Nevada, Tuolumne, Mono, Madera, Humboldt, Fresno, Inyo, Amador

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.