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Tower rockcress

Tower rockcress

Turritis glabra

Identify the Tower rockcress from a photo and log your finds with Florapass.

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How common: Common

Tower rockcress is a tall, slender plant of dry, open places. It lives for two years: first it forms a low circle of leaves, then it sends up a straight stem up to about a metre with small pale yellow flowers and long upright pods. It has a blue‑green look and is native across much of Eurasia and is also found in North America.

Did you know?

  • Its long, upright seed pods run up the stem like a ladder, giving it a tower‑like look.
  • Also listed as Arabis glabra in some books.

About the species

Identification

First year a low circle of hairy leaves that wither early in the second year. Flowering stem 50–120 cm, slender, usually unbranched, blue‑green and mostly smooth. Stem leaves many, narrow and pointed, with arrow‑shaped bases that clasp the stem; edges smooth. Flowers small with four narrow, pale yellow petals. Seed pods very long (4–7 cm), thin and upright, pressed close to the stem. Unlike many related cresses with white flowers and spreading pods, this one has pale yellow flowers and pods held close. Flowers in Finland in June–July.

Plant group

Herbaceous plants

Habitat

meadow

Flowering

Jun–Jul

About the habitat

Dry, sunny places such as slopes, stony and rocky ground, road verges and other open sites, often near settlements. Common and native in southern Finland; further north a rare old introduction.

Sources

Photo: AnRo0002, CC0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20140525Turritis glabra3.jpg

Text: Pinkka: BIO-503 Suomen kasvisto ja kasvillisuus - Kulttuuriympäristöt: kedot, CC BY 4.0 https://laji.fi/taxon/MX.38415

Text: Wikipedia (Finnish), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%B6lkkyruoho

See also