Boechera

Taxobox
name = "Boechera"

---

image_caption = "Boechera drummondii"
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
unranked_ordo = Rosids
ordo = Brassicales
familia = Brassicaceae
genus = "Boechera"
genus_authority = A.Löve & D.Löve
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = See text.|

"Boechera" (rockcress) is a genus of the family Brassicaceae, subfamily Brassicoideae. It was named after the Danish botanist Tyge W. Böcher (1909-1983), who was known for his research in alpine plants, including the mustard genus "Draba". According to recent molecular based studies "Boechera" is sister to the genus "Arabidopsis" which also includes the widely known model plant "Arabidopsis thaliana".Until recently, members of this genus were included in the genus "Arabis", but have been separated from that genus based on recent genetic and cytological data. Unlike the genus Arabis (x=8) Boechera has a base chromosome number of x=7. Many taxa are triploid. "Boechera" is an exclusively North American genus, most diverse in the western United States but its distribution range also includes Greenland. The genus is poorly known, and species within are difficult to separate morphologically though some clearly distinct species are known.

Most members of the genus are perennial plants with pubescent leaves with stellate trichomes, narrow curving fruits, and small white to purple flowers in elongated racemes. Relationships within the genus are unclear, and some eastern North American species, including "Boechera laevigata", may belong to a clade distinct from the rest of the genus.

A very interesting feature of the genus is asexual reproduction, a process known as apomixis.

;Selected species
*"Boechera crandallii" (Crandall's Rockcress)
*"Boechera drummondii" (Drummond's Rockcress)
*"Boechera gunnisoniana" (Gunnison's Rockcress)
*"Boechera holboellii" (Holboell's Rockcress)
*"Boechera lignifera" (Desert Rockcress)
*"Boechera oxylobula" (Glenwood Springs Rockcress)
*"Boechera pallidifolia" (Gunnison County Rockcress)
*"Boechera perennans" (Perennial Rockcress)
*"Boechera pulchra" (Beautiful Rockcress)
*"Boechera selbyi" (Selby's Rockcress)
*"Boechera sparsiflora" (Sicklepod Rockcress)
*"Boechera stricta" (Drummond's Rockcress)