It was named after the Danish botanist Tyge W. Böcher (1909–1983), who was known for his research in alpine plants, including the mustards Draba and Boechera holboellii.

Boechera is a primarily North American genus, most diverse in the western United States, and its distribution range also includes Greenland and the Russian Far East.

Most members of the genus are perennial plants with pubescent leaves with stellate trichomes, narrow curving fruits, and small white to purple flowers in elongated racemes.

A very interesting feature of many species of the genus is asexual reproduction, a process known as apomixis.

[2] Species in this genus are one of the main food sources for the caterpillars of the butterfly Pieris oleracea.