Boechera ultraalsa

Snow mountain rockcress, Snow Mountain Rockcress

Family: Brassicaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Snow mountain rockcress is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native perennial found in the northern Coast Ranges, specifically around Snow Mountain in Lake County, growing in rocky soil at approximately 1,800 meters elevation. Flowering from June to July, this plant produces small white flowers on compact inflorescences with 3 to 4 blossoms. Growing with slender stems about 10 centimeters tall, it emerges from a woody caudex with distinctive long-stalked, 2 to 6-rayed hairs on its lower stem. Its basal leaves are entire, 4 to 6 millimeters wide, with long-stalked hairs that have 3 to 7 rays, while cauline leaves are sparse and become progressively hairier toward the stem's tip. The fruit is an erect-ascending silique 3 to 4 centimeters long, approximately 5 millimeters wide, and typically glabrous.

Habitat: Rocky soil

Bloom period: Jun-Jul

Elevation: +- 1800 m.

Bioregions: NCoRH (Snow Mtn, Lake Co.).

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