Arabis lyrata fo. lyrata :
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Arabis lyrata var. lyrata :
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Arabis lyrata L.:
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

It is found along the Lake Michigan shore and in some coastal areas of Lake Huron and Lake Superior, but seldom in inland areas. It grows from Alaska to the mountains of Georgia to Vermont. It is also found in eastern Asia. (Weatherbee, 2006)  

USA: AK , CT , DE , GA , IL , IN , IA , KY , MD , MA , MI , MN , MS , MO , NJ , NY , NC , OH , PA , TN , VT , VA , WV , WI , DC (NPIN 2007) 

Canada: AB , ON , SK (NPIN 2007) 

Native Distribution: Alberta east to Quebec, south to North Carolina, west through Tennessee to Missouri, and north to Minnesota. (NPIN 2007)

Overall Plants are usually solitary, but may appear in large colonies.(Weatherbee, 2006) Plants are low, slender, and glabrous (hairless) except for root leaves. (Peattie, 1930)  

Flowers have four white petals. (Weatherbee, 2006) The petals are much longer than the yellowish calyx. (Peattie, 1930) There is a terminal cluster of small, white or greenish-white flowers. (NPIN 2007)  

Fruit is skinny and somewhat papery and is known as a silque(elongated pod). (Weatherbee, 2006) The pods are flattened and linear, and the valves are more or less 1-nerved in the middle or longitudinally veiny. Seeds are marginless or winged. (Peattie, 1930)  

Stems and Leaves A basal rosette (a circular cluster) of deeply lobed leaves surrounds an emergent stem. The lower stem leaves are spatulate ( shaped like a spatula), and either entire (no teeth) or pinnately lobed (with a ladderlike row of barbs on each side). The cauline (stem) leaves are linear to spatulate, with a few teeth or lobes. (Weatherbee, 2006) Root leaves bear hairs and are lyrate-pinnatifid (divided into several lobes, the smallest at the base, with clefts reaching halfway or more to the midrib). Stem leaves are scattered, with a tapering base, and can be linear or spatulate, entire or a little toothed. (Peattie, 1930) An erect stem rising from a rosette of basal leaves. (NPIN 2007) 

Plant is 10-40 cm (4-16") tall. (Weatherbee, 2006) 

Flowers are 3-8 mm (1/16-3/8"). (Weatherbee, 2006) 

Fruit are 2-4 cm (3/4-1 1/2") long x 1 mm (1/32") wide. (Weatherbee, 2006) 

Stems are 10-40 cm (4-16") tall. (Weatherbee, 2006) 

Leaves lower on the stem are 2-4 cm (3/4-1 1/2") long. (Weatherbee, 2006) 

It is difficult to distinguish many mustards. (Weatherbee, 2006) Other common members of this genus are Hairy Rockcress (A. hirsuta), with a basal rosette of hairy, oblong leaves, clasping stem leaves, and pods that are erect or pressed against the stem; and Smooth Rockcress (A. laevigata), with smooth, lanceolate, clasping leaves and down-curved or horizontal pods. (NPIN 2007)

It grows in the Great Lakes region on dunes and in other sandy areas. It will persist primarily in unaltered landscapes. It usually occurs in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands opportunistically. (Weatherbee, 2006) In native habitat it grows on Cliffs, ledges, and in gravelly or sandy soil. (NPIN 2007)

Arabis lyrata (Sand Rock Cress)
(the butterfly sucks nectar; information is limited; this observation is from Grundel & Pavlovic)

Butterflies
Lycaenidae: Lycaeides melissa samuelis fq

It is able to grow in shifting sand and helps to bind it for colonization by other plants. (Weatherbee, 2006)

This biennial flowers from May to July. (Weatherbee, 2006)

This is a biennial. (Weatherbee, 2006)

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 7
Species: 7
Species With Barcodes: 1

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N4 - Apparently Secure

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

Rounded Global Status Rank: T5 - Secure

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

This plant is listed by the U.S. federal government or a state. The common names are from state and federal lists. In Massachusetts Arabidopsis lyrata , lyre-leaved rock-cress is listed as Endangered. In Ohio lyre-leaf rock-cress is listed as Threatened. In Vermont lyre-leaved rock-cress is listed as Threatened. (USDA PLANTS, 2009)

Indigenous people of Alaska eat the leaves cooked as a vegetable or raw in salads. (Weatherbee, 2006)

Comments: Kartesz (1994 checklist) includes Arabis kamtschatica here as a variety; Mulligan (1995 synopsis, Rhodora 97: 109-163) treats that as a distinct species.