Arabis selbyi Rydb.
Synonym: Boechera selbyi (Rydb.) W.A. Weber
Family: Brassicaceae
Description: "Only the slightly more ascending pedicels
and usually entire or subentire leaves serve to distinguish this
[A. selbyi] from A. perennans. Possibly, it would
be treated better at infraspecific level within that species."
(Welsh et al. 1993)
Distribution: It appears to be a Colorado Plateau endemic.
Western Colorado and southwestern Wyoming to northwestern New
Mexico and eastern Utah (Rollins 1993); Carbon, Daggett, Duchesne,
Emery, Garfield, Grand, Kane, San Juan, Sevier, Uintah, Utah,
and Wayne counties; western Colorado and northwestern New Mexico
(Welsh et al. 1993).
Plants Seen or Cited: No collections at UNM and no entries in
the New Mexico Natural Heritage Program Database.
Habitat: Sandy knolls, steep hillsides, among sagebrush
or under junipers and pines, rocky slopes, base of sandstone cliffs,
chip-rock (Rollins 1993); sagebrush, pinyon-juniper, mountain
brush, ponderosa pine, and Douglas fir communities mostly at 1,500
to 2,625 m elevation (Welsh et al. 1993); common, pinyon-juniper
and sagebrush (Weber & Wittmann 1996).
Discussion: This plant is common in western and southwestern
Colorado and eastern Utah and is present in southwestern Wyoming.
It is apparently not considered rare in Colorado (Spackman et
al. 1997) or Utah (Atwood et al. nd). No specimens were seen from
New Mexico (at least none are at UNM), although Rollins (1993)
and Weber & Wittmann (1996) say that it grows in the northwestern
part of the state. Even if it is present in New Mexico, its relatively
wide distribution and commonness elsewhere indicate that it should
not receive rare species status.
Important Literature:
Atwood, D.J. Holland, R. Bolander, B. Franklin, D.E. House, L.
Armstrong, K. Thorne and L. England. No date (about 1990). Utah
threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant field guide.
Rollins, R.C. 1993. The Cruciferae of continental North America.
Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA. (page 201)
Spackman, S., B. Jennings, J. Coles, C. Dawson, M. Minton, A.
Kratz and C. Spurrier. 1997. Colorado Rare Plant Field Guide.
Prepared for the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by the Colorado Natural
Heritage Program.
Weber, W.A. and R.C. Wittmann. 1996. Colorado flora: Western Slope,
Second edition. University Press of Colorado. (page 117)
Welsh, S.L., N.D. Atwood, S. Goodrich and L.C. Higgins. 1993.
A Utah flora, Second edition, revised. Jones Endowment Fund, Monte
L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University, Provo,
UT. (page 285-286)
Information Compiled By: David L. Bleakly, 1998
