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Canada Rockcress

Borodinia canadensis

In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in thin soils around rock outcrops, especially mafic or calcareous, and in dry to moist, nutrient-rich, often rocky woodlands over mafic or calcareous rocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not scored

Native status unresolved in Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 59%

Height
Up to about 4 feet
Light
Partial shade, Full shade, Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to moist
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Biennial
Fruiting season
June to August

Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 6 Arkansas counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Standing water, Flat Rock Cedar Glades and Barrens SNA, Rutherford County
Standing water on a limestone glade. Shown: Flat Rock Cedar Glades and Barrens State Natural Area, Rutherford County, Tennessee, a neighboring state.Standing water, Flat Rock Cedar Glades and Barrens SNA, Rutherford County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock

Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

2CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR

Genus host records with ranges including AR · Borodinia

  • Anthocharis mideaFalcate Orangetip
  • Euchloe olympiaOlympia Marble, Rosy Marble
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Arabis

  • Alectoris chukarChukar
  • Centrocercus urophasianusGreater Sage-Grouse
  • Leucosticte atrataBlack Rosy-Finch
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Brassicaceae
Flower color
White or green
Fruit begins
June
Fruit ends
August

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Arabis canadensis; Canada Rock Cress; Sicklepod; rockcress

Conservation status

Arkansas rankSNR
Global rankG5
AR statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources