Arabis alpina | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Brassicales |
Family: | Brassicaceae |
Genus: | Arabis |
Species: | A. alpina |
Binomial name | |
Arabis alpina | |
Synonyms | |
Arabis merinoi Pau |
Arabis alpina, the Alpine rock-cress, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to mountainous areas of Europe, North and East Africa, Central and Eastern Asia and parts of North America. In the British Isles, it is only known to occur in a few locations in the Cuillin Ridge of the Isle of Skye. It inhabits damp gravels and screes, often over limestone.
The stems grow up to 40 cm (16 inches) tall, and are topped with loose heads of white, four-petalled flowers. Flowers bloom in spring. The leaves in the basal rosette are long, strongly toothed and clearly stalked, although the stem leaves are stalkless and clasp the stem. It is a perennial herb. [1] The plant attracts butterflies. [2]
Arabis alpina is believed to have originated in Asia Minor about 2 million years ago. From there it migrated twice into East Africa (500,000 years ago) where it grows today on the high East African mountains in the ericaceous belt. Another migration route led A. alpina into Europe which was then colonised periglacially. In genetic terms, the highest diversity is found in Asia Minor. In central and northern Europe, A. alpina seems to be genetically quite uniform. [3]
There is growing interest to develop Arabis alpina as a model organism for genetics, population genetics, and molecular biology [4] . The first genetic linkage map has been created and the first phenotypes, especially perenniality, are tackled by QTL mapping.
A former subspecies, A. alpina subsp. caucasica, is now recognised as a separate species, Arabis caucasica .
Brassicaceae or Cruciferae is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leaves are simple, lack stipules, and appear alternately on stems or in rosettes. The inflorescences are terminal and lack bracts. The flowers have four free sepals, four free alternating petals, two shorter free stamens and four longer free stamens. The fruit has seeds in rows, divided by a thin wall.
Erysimum, or wallflower, is a genus of flowering plants in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae. It includes more than 150 species, both popular garden plants and many wild forms. The genus Cheiranthus is sometimes included here in whole or in part. Erysimum has since the early 21st century been ascribed to a monogeneric cruciferous tribe, Erysimeae, characterised by sessile, stellate (star-shaped) and/or malpighiaceous (two-sided) trichomes, yellow to orange flowers and multiseeded siliques.
Watercress or yellowcress is a species of aquatic flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae.
Oenothera is a genus of about 145 species of herbaceous flowering plants native to the Americas. It is the type genus of the family Onagraceae. Common names include evening primrose, suncups, and sundrops. They are not closely related to the true primroses.
Rhamphospermum nigrum, black mustard, is an annual plant cultivated for its dark-brown-to-black seeds, which are commonly used as a spice. It is native to cooler regions of North Africa, temperate regions of Europe, and parts of Asia.
Arabis, or rockcress, is a genus of flowering plants, within the family Brassicaceae.
Erythranthe guttata, with the common names seep monkeyflower and common yellow monkeyflower, is a yellow bee-pollinated annual or perennial plant. It was formerly known as Mimulus guttatus.
An Arctic–alpine taxon is one whose natural distribution includes the Arctic and more southerly mountain ranges, particularly the Alps. The presence of identical or similar taxa in both the tundra of the far north, and high mountain ranges much further south is testament to the similar environmental conditions found in the two locations. Arctic–alpine plants, for instance, must be adapted to the low temperatures, extremes of temperature, strong winds and short growing season; they are therefore typically low-growing and often form mats or cushions to reduce water loss through evapotranspiration.
Draba aizoides is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, known as yellow whitlow-grass. It is native to Europe where it is found on limestone rocks and walls. In the British Isles it is found only on the Gower Peninsula in Wales.
Neottia ovata, the common twayblade or eggleaf twayblade, is a terrestrial orchid widespread across much of Europe and Asia
Draba verna, common whitlowgrass, is a species of plant in the cabbage family. It is a small spring-flowering annual which is widely dispersed around the world, and which is found on walls, pavements and patches of bare ground. It has a complex taxonomy which is not yet fully elucidated.
Arabis hirsuta, known as hairy rock-cress, is a flowering plant of the genus Arabis in the family Brassicaceae. In previous North American works, this species has been broadly defined to include plants native to Europe, Asia, and the northern half of North America, but is now more often restricted to a narrower subgroup restricted to Europe.
Arabis blepharophylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, known by the common names coast rock cress and rose rock cress. It is endemic to California, growing mostly in the San Francisco Bay Area and nearby low-elevation California Coast Ranges.
Cakile maritima, sea rocket or European searocket, is a common plant in the mustard family Brassicaceae. It is widespread in Europe, North Africa and western Asia, especially on coastlines. It can now be found in many other areas of the world where it has been introduced. It is present on the west and east coasts of North America, where it has the potential to become an invasive species. This is an annual plant which grows in clumps or mounds in the sand on beaches and bluffs. The shiny leaves are fleshy, green and tinted with purple or magenta, and long-lobed. It has white to light purple flowers and sculpted, segmented, corky brown fruits one to three centimetres long. The fruits float and are water-dispersed.
Diplotaxis tenuifolia is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name perennial wall-rocket. It is native to Europe and West Asia, where it grows on disturbed ground and roadsides, and it can now be found throughout much of the temperate world where it has naturalized. In recent years it has increasingly been cultivated to produce salad leaves, which are marketed as wild rocket in Britain or arugula in the US. It is easily confused with garden rocket, which has similar uses.
Silene suecica is a species of plant in the family Caryophyllaceae. Its common name is red Alpine catchfly and its natural habitat is the mountains of Norway and Sweden but it is sometimes found near the coasts and it is also found in the Alps and the Pyrenees, Greenland and North America.
Bartsia alpina is a species of perennial flowering plant, known by the common name alpine bartsia or velvetbells. It is found in the mountainous regions of Europe and also occurs in Iceland, Greenland and north‐eastern Canada.
Boechera fecunda is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names Mt. Sapphire rockcress and bitterroot rockcress. It is endemic to Montana in the United States, where there are twenty known occurrences in three counties.
Arabis caucasica is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family (Brassicaceae) known by the common names garden arabis, mountain rock cress or Caucasian rockcress.
Koenigia × fennica, known as Finnish knotweed, is a hybrid between two species of Koenigia, K. alpina and K. weyrichii, members of the family Polygonaceae, the knotweed family. It generally only known as a cultivated garden plant, but plants have been recorded a few times surviving in abandoned areas in northern Europe, especially in Finland. The cultivar 'Johanniswolke' is considered an attractive ornamental perennial plant.