''Arabis alpina'', the Alpine rock-cress, is a
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
in the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leav ...
,
native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
to mountainous areas of Europe, North and East Africa, Central and Eastern Asia and parts of North America. In the British Isles, it is only known to occur in a few locations in the
Cuillin Ridge of the Isle of Skye. It inhabits damp gravels and screes, often over limestone.
Description
The
stems grow up to 40 cm (16 inches) tall, and are topped with loose heads of white, four-petalled flowers. Flowers bloom in spring. The
leaves in the basal
rosette are long, strongly toothed and clearly stalked, although the stem leaves are stalkless and clasp the stem. It is a perennial herb. The plant attracts butterflies.
Taxonomy
''Arabis alpina'' is believed to have originated in Asia Minor about 2 million years ago. From there it migrated twice into East Africa (500,000 years ago) where it grows today on the high East African mountains in the
ericaceous belt. Another migration route led ''A. alpina'' into Europe which was then colonised
periglacial
Periglaciation (adjective: "periglacial", also referring to places at the edges of glacial areas) describes geomorphic processes that result from seasonal thawing of snow in areas of permafrost, the runoff from which refreezes in ice wedges and o ...
ly. In genetic terms, the highest diversity is found in Asia Minor. In central and northern Europe, ''A. alpina'' seems to be genetically quite uniform.
There is growing interest to develop ''Arabis alpina'' as a model organism for
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
,
population genetics
Population genetics is a subfield of genetics that deals with genetic differences within and between populations, and is a part of evolutionary biology. Studies in this branch of biology examine such phenomena as Adaptation (biology), adaptation, ...
, and molecular biology. The first
genetic linkage map has been created and the first phenotypes, especially perenniality, are tackled by
QTL mapping
A quantitative trait locus (QTL) is a locus (section of DNA) that correlates with variation of a quantitative trait in the phenotype of a population of organisms. QTLs are mapped by identifying which molecular markers (such as SNPs or AFLPs) co ...
.
Subdivision
A former subspecies, ''A. alpina'' subsp. ''caucasica'', is now recognised as a separate species, ''
Arabis caucasica''.
See also
*
List of ''Arabis'' species
References
External links
Natural History Museum
{{Taxonbar, from=Q162556
Alpine flora
alpina
Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH & Co. KG is an automobile manufacturing company based in Buchloe, in the Ostallgäu district of Bavaria, Germany that develops and sells high-performance versions of BMW cars.
Alpina works closely with BMW an ...
Flora of Asia
Flora of Africa
Flora of Europe
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus