Arabis hirsuta, known as hairy rock-cress,[4] is a flowering plant 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,[5] but is now more often restricted to a narrower subgroup restricted to Europe.[6][7][8]
Arabis hirsuta grows to heights of up to around 75 centimetres (30 in)[9] and is usually unbranched, with a long spike of flowers. Lower leaves form a rosette, the stalkless upper-leaves clasp the stem. The white petals are twice as long as the sepals, flowers June–August. The fruits are cylindrical and pressed close to the stem and the slightly winged seeds are reddish brown. It features hairs, which are stiff and forking. The species grows on chalk slopes, dunes, hedgebanks, walls and rocks.[10]
The conservation status of Arabis hirsuta, in the UK, is marked as "least concern" as of 2021.[11]
^J.. ZR. Aleroyd. Arabis. in Tutin et al. Flora Europaea. vol. 1. 2nd ed. 1993.
^Robert Karl, Marcus A. Koch. Phylogenetic signatures of adaptation: The Arabis hirsuta species aggregate (Brassicaceae) revisited. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. in press. Available online 24 June 2014
^Reader's Digest Nature Lover's Library, Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Britain, Editor Michael W. Davison, Art Editor Neal V. Martin, The Reader's Digest Association Limited, 11 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London E144HE, Reprint 2001, ISBN0 276 42506 5.