Foothills to alpine. Woodlands, canyons. Spring, summer.
Bear Creek Trail, May 19, 2022.

Although commonly found in small groupings, Boechera stricta is also found in larger colonies. (That's our dog, Pepper, chewing a stick and relaxing after we climbed most of the elevation gain on the Bear Creek Trail.)

Foothills to alpine. Woodlands, canyons. Spring, summer.
Bear Creek Trail, June 14, 2005.

This slender member of the Mustard family begins blooming early and is quite common from the foothills to alpine elevations.  Flowers range from white to pink, but, click here and you will see that they may even appear to be yellow early in their growth.  Plants continue to elongate and flower for many weeks.  Flowers are so small and the stem and leaves so slender, that this is an easily passed-by plant.    

"Boechera" is for Danish botanist, Tyge Boecher, and "drummondii" honors botanist, naturalist Thomas Drummond who first collected the seeds of this plant in the northern Rockies.  Drummond sent the seeds to England where they were sprouted and in 1829 the resultant plant was named Turritis stricta by Graham.  Gray renamed the plant Arabis drummondii in 1863, and the plant has undergone dozens of genus and specific epithet name changes since then, the latest being Al-Shehbaz's 2003, Boechera stricta.  (Click for more biographical information about Boecher.    Click for more biographical information about Drummond.)

Foothills to alpine. Woodlands, canyons. Spring, summer.
Bear Creek Trail, June 14, 2005.

Flowers, leaves, and 2-3 inch seed pods all have a vertical stance, thus the Latin "stricta" for "upright".

Range map © John Kartesz,
Floristic Synthesis of North America

State Color Key

Species present in state and native
Species present in state and exotic
Species not present in state

County Color Key

Species present and not rare
Species present and rare
Species extirpated (historic)
Species extinct
Species noxious
Species exotic and present
Native species, but adventive in state
Eradicated
Questionable presence

Range map for Boechera stricta