

Shale Barren Rockcress Arabis serotina
Shale Barren Rockcress is a biennial wildflower native to the lower 48 states. A host for pollen-specialist native bees.
More about this plant
Borodinia serotina is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name shale barren rockcress. It is native to eastern West Virginia and western Virginia in and around the Shenandoah Valley, where it is known from 62 populations. It is endemic to the shale barrens, a type of habitat characterized by steep slopes of bare shale, an exposed, rocky habitat type that is subject to very dry and hot conditions. Shale barrens host a number of endemics, such as Allium oxyphilum and Taenidia montana, and this rockcress is among the rarest. It is a federally listed endangered species. Wikipedia →
Growing & care
USDA PLANTS · TRY- Hardiness
- ≥ zone 7 derived from its U.S. range
- Lifespan
- Biennial
Wildlife & pollinators
How pollinator value is scored →❧ Caterpillar hosts ~7 caterpillar species
Arabis supports ~7 caterpillar species.
Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a modest genus.
Recorded feeding on Arabis in North America, including:
+ 8 more species → ↑ show fewer
✦ Bees specialist-bee host
Specialist native bees depend on it.
Some native bees are pollen specialists (oligolectic) — they raise young only on pollen from particular plant genera. Arabis is a recorded specialist-bee host, so losing it can mean losing the bee that relies on it.
Sources for this entry (11) Open & cited
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