Boechera perennans

Perennial rockcress

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Perennial rockcress is a California native perennial found in southern Sierra Nevada, San Gabriel Mountains, San Bernardino Mountains, eastern Peninsular Ranges, southern Sierra Nevada, and desert regions in rocky slopes, gravelly soil, desert, and chaparral habitats at elevations of 500 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces white to purple flowers 5 to 9 millimeters long with delicate petals. Growing with woody stems 20 to 70 centimeters tall, arising laterally from a woody caudex and covered with short-stalked, multi-rayed hairs. Its basal leaves are 3 to 15 millimeters wide with dentate edges, featuring short-stalked hairs with 3 to 6 rays. The fruit is a pendulous silique 3 to 7 centimeters long, hanging distinctively from slender pedicels.

Habitat: Rocky slopes, gravelly soil, desert, chaparral, low montane habitats

Bloom period: Feb-May

Elevation: 500-2000 m

Bioregions: s SNH, SnGb, SnBr, e PR, SNE, D

California counties: San Bernardino, Imperial, Riverside, San Diego, Los Angeles, Inyo, Kern, Mono, El Dorado, Tulare, Mariposa

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