FNA: Draba alpina vs. Draba fladnizensis

	Draba alpina	Draba fladnizensis
	alpine Draba	arctic Draba, Austrian Draba, Austrian whitlow-grass
Habit	Perennials; (cespitose); caudex branched (covered with persistent leaves or leaf remains); scapose.	Perennials; (sometimes cespitose); caudex simple or branched (with persistent leaf bases); usually scapose.
Stems	unbranched, (0.3–)0.5–1.7(–2.8) dm, pubescent throughout, trichomes simple and 2-rayed, 0.3–0.8 mm, with 3–5-rayed ones, 0.1–0.3 mm.	unbranched, (0.2–)0.3–1(–1.3) dm, glabrous.
Basal leaves	rosulate; petiolate; petiole base (not thickened), ciliate, (trichomes simple, 0.3–1 mm); blade oblanceolate to obovate or lanceolate to oblong, 0.8–3(–4.5) cm × 2.5–6(–9) mm, margins entire, surfaces abaxially pubescent with stalked, 2–4-rayed trichomes, 0.1–0.5 mm, with simple ones (midvein obscure, not thickened), adaxially glabrous or sparsely pubescent with simple and stalked, 2–4-rayed trichomes.	rosulate; petiole (obscure), margin ciliate, (trichomes simple or 2-rayed, 0.25–0.6 mm); blade linear to oblanceolate or narrowly obovate, (0.3–)0.4–1.2(–1.6) cm × 1–3(–4) mm, margins usually entire, rarely toothed, surfaces abaxially pubescent or glabrous, trichomes simple, sometimes with fewer, short-stalked, 2-rayed ones, (midvein prominent), adaxially often glabrous.
Cauline leaves	0.	0–2; sessile; blade oblong to ovate, margins entire, (ciliate).
Racemes	6–18-flowered, ebracteate, considerably elongated in fruit; rachis not flexuous, pubescent as stem.	(2 or) 3–11(–14)-flowered, usually ebracteate, rarely proximalmost flowers bracteate, elongated in fruit; rachis not flexuous, glabrous.
Flowers	sepals (purplish tinged), narrowly ovate, 2.5–3 mm, pubescent, (trichomes simple and fewer, stalked, 2-rayed); petals bright yellow, narrowly obovate, 3.5–5 × 1.7–2.5 mm; anthers ovate, 0.3–0.4 mm.	sepals (green or purplish), ovate, 1.2–2.2 mm, glabrous or pubescent, (trichomes simple); petals white, spatulate, 2–2.5 × 0.8–1.5 mm; anthers ovate, 0.2–0.25 mm.
Fruiting pedicels	ascending to divaricate-ascending, straight or, sometimes, slightly curved upwards, 4–14(–30) mm, pubescent, trichomes simple and 2–4-rayed.	divaricate-ascending, often straight, (1–)2–5(–6) mm, glabrous.
Fruits	elliptic, plane, flattened, 6–10 × 2–3 mm; valves glabrous or glabrescent, trichomes simple, (not confined to replum); ovules 12–24 per ovary; style 0.2–0.3 mm (stigma about as wide as style).	elliptic-lanceolate to oblong, plane, flattened, 3–8(–9) × 1.5–2 mm; valves glabrous; ovules 12–24 per ovary; style 0.05–0.2(–0.3) mm.
Seeds	(pale brown), ovoid, 0.9–1.3 × 0.6–0.9 mm.	oblong to elliptic, 0.8–1 × 0.5–0.6 mm.
2n	= 80.	= 16.

	Draba alpina	Draba fladnizensis
Phenology	Flowering Jun–Aug.	Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat	Moist tundra and ridges, sand and gravel flats or beaches	Rock outcrops and talus, alpine meadows, sandy gravel
Elevation	0-1000 m (0-3300 ft)	0-1400 m at higher latitudes, 3000-3800 m at lower latitudes (0-4600 ft at higher latitudes, 9800-12500 ft at lower latitudes)
Distribution	LB; MB; NU; ON; QC; Greenland; Europe (Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden) [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	AK; CO; UT; WY; BC; NT; NU; QC; YT; Greenland; c Europe; s Europe; Asia; circumpolar and high alpine areas [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Discussion	The synonymy above includes two North American names overlooked by C. L. Hitchcock (1941) and R. C. Rollins (1993). Draba alpina was broadly delimited by O. E. Schulz (1927) and included 17 varieties, some of which (e.g., corymbosa, oxycarpa, pilosa) are recognized herein as distinct species. The name D. alpina was so misapplied that it was used for any circumpolar or alpine, scapose, yellow-flowered, perennial Draba. Various chromosome numbers (e.g., 2n = 64, 80, 112, 120; S. I. Warwick and I. A. Al-Shehbaz 2006) have been reported for the species. As circumscribed here, it has the narrow distribution outlined above and includes plants with 2n = 80. Reports of the species from Alaska, Canadian Northwest Territories and Yukon, Siberia, eastern Asia, Russian Far East, and the Central Asian republics are either suspect or very unlikely. The entire D. alpina complex (including the above three species, D. glacialis Adams, D. macounii, etc.) is in need of critical molecular, cytological, and morphological study. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)	Rollins reduced Draba pattersonii to a variety of D. fladnizensis and separated the two primarily on plant size and minor differences in fruit shape. Examination of D. fladnizensis specimens collected throughout Europe and North America reveals that the alleged differences between the two taxa are artificial. The type material of D. pattersonii, which was collected in Colorado, is a mixture of plants highly variable in their type of indumentum. The specimens have no flowers, but the habit, fruits, and leaves are nearly indistinguishable from those of D. fladnizensis from higher latitudes. In the absence of flowers, the white-flowered Draba fladnizensis (2n = 16) is often confused with the yellow-flowered D. crassifolia (2n = 40). The latter is an annual or short-lived perennial that rarely forms a well-developed caudex, whereas D. fladnizensis almost always produces a distinct caudex. Although most individuals of both species are scapose, they occasionally produce one or two cauline leaves. The cauline leaves are usually glabrous in D. crassifolia and ciliate in D. fladnizensis; in the latter, the distalmost cauline leaf usually subtends the proximalmost flower. Finally, the seeds in D. fladnizensis are slightly larger (0.8–0.1 × 0.5–0.6 versus 0.7–0.8 × 0.4–0.5 mm) than those of D. crassifolia, though the reliability of this distinction needs to be examined in greater detail. N. H. Holmgren (2005b) reported D. fladnizensis from central Nevada, but we have not seen any material of the species from that state. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source	FNA vol. 7, p. 290.	FNA vol. 7, p. 307.
Parent taxa	Brassicaceae > tribe Arabideae > Draba	Brassicaceae > tribe Arabideae > Draba
Sibling taxa	D. abajoensis, D. albertina, D. aleutica, D. aprica, D. arabisans, D. arctica, D. arctogena, D. argyrea, D. arida, D. asprella, D. asterophora, D. aurea, D. aureola, D. bifurcata, D. borealis, D. brachycarpa, D. brachystylis, D. breweri, D. burkei, D. californica, D. cana, D. carnosula, D. chamissonis, D. cinerea, D. corrugata, D. corymbosa, D. crassa, D. crassifolia, D. cruciata, D. cuneifolia, D. cusickii, D. cyclomorpha, D. daviesiae, D. densifolia, D. exunguiculata, D. fladnizensis, D. glabella, D. globosa, D. graminea, D. grandis, D. grayana, D. heilii, D. helleriana, D. hitchcockii, D. howellii, D. incana, D. incerta, D. incrassata, D. inexpectata, D. jaegeri, D. juvenilis, D. kassii, D. kluanei, D. lactea, D. lemmonii, D. lonchocarpa, D. longisquamosa, D. macounii, D. maguirei, D. malpighiacea, D. micropetala, D. mogollonica, D. monoensis, D. mulliganii, D. murrayi, D. nemorosa, D. nivalis, D. norvegica, D. novolympica, D. oblongata, D. ogilviensis, D. oligosperma, D. oreibata, D. oxycarpa, D. palanderiana, D. pauciflora, D. paucifructa, D. paysonii, D. pectinipila, D. pedicellata, D. pennellii, D. petrophila, D. pilosa, D. platycarpa, D. porsildii, D. praealta, D. pterosperma, D. ramosissima, D. ramulosa, D. rectifructa, D. reptans, D. ruaxes, D. santaquinensis, D. saxosa, D. scotteri, D. serpentina, D. sharsmithii, D. sibirica, D. sierrae, D. simmonsii, D. smithii, D. sobolifera, D. spectabilis, D. sphaerocarpa, D. sphaeroides, D. standleyi, D. stenoloba, D. stenopetala, D. streptobrachia, D. streptocarpa, D. subalpina, D. subcapitata, D. subumbellata, D. trichocarpa, D. ventosa, D. verna, D. viridis, D. weberi, D. yukonensis, D. zionensis	D. abajoensis, D. albertina, D. aleutica, D. alpina, D. aprica, D. arabisans, D. arctica, D. arctogena, D. argyrea, D. arida, D. asprella, D. asterophora, D. aurea, D. aureola, D. bifurcata, D. borealis, D. brachycarpa, D. brachystylis, D. breweri, D. burkei, D. californica, D. cana, D. carnosula, D. chamissonis, D. cinerea, D. corrugata, D. corymbosa, D. crassa, D. crassifolia, D. cruciata, D. cuneifolia, D. cusickii, D. cyclomorpha, D. daviesiae, D. densifolia, D. exunguiculata, D. glabella, D. globosa, D. graminea, D. grandis, D. grayana, D. heilii, D. helleriana, D. hitchcockii, D. howellii, D. incana, D. incerta, D. incrassata, D. inexpectata, D. jaegeri, D. juvenilis, D. kassii, D. kluanei, D. lactea, D. lemmonii, D. lonchocarpa, D. longisquamosa, D. macounii, D. maguirei, D. malpighiacea, D. micropetala, D. mogollonica, D. monoensis, D. mulliganii, D. murrayi, D. nemorosa, D. nivalis, D. norvegica, D. novolympica, D. oblongata, D. ogilviensis, D. oligosperma, D. oreibata, D. oxycarpa, D. palanderiana, D. pauciflora, D. paucifructa, D. paysonii, D. pectinipila, D. pedicellata, D. pennellii, D. petrophila, D. pilosa, D. platycarpa, D. porsildii, D. praealta, D. pterosperma, D. ramosissima, D. ramulosa, D. rectifructa, D. reptans, D. ruaxes, D. santaquinensis, D. saxosa, D. scotteri, D. serpentina, D. sharsmithii, D. sibirica, D. sierrae, D. simmonsii, D. smithii, D. sobolifera, D. spectabilis, D. sphaerocarpa, D. sphaeroides, D. standleyi, D. stenoloba, D. stenopetala, D. streptobrachia, D. streptocarpa, D. subalpina, D. subcapitata, D. subumbellata, D. trichocarpa, D. ventosa, D. verna, D. viridis, D. weberi, D. yukonensis, D. zionensis
Synonyms	D. alpina var. hydeana, D. alpina var. inflatisiliqua	D. fladnizensis var. pattersonii, D. pattersonii, D. pattersonii var. hirticaulis, D. wahlenbergii
Name authority	Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 642. (1753)	Wulfen: in N. J. Jacquin, Misc. Austriac. 1: 147, plate 17, fig. 1. (1778)
Web links	WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: BC Local Web sites: PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Draba fladnizensis

alpine Draba

arctic Draba, Austrian Draba, Austrian whitlow-grass

Habit

Perennials; (cespitose); caudex branched (covered with persistent leaves or leaf remains); scapose.

Perennials; (sometimes cespitose); caudex simple or branched (with persistent leaf bases); usually scapose.

Stems

unbranched, (0.3–)0.5–1.7(–2.8) dm, pubescent throughout, trichomes simple and 2-rayed, 0.3–0.8 mm, with 3–5-rayed ones, 0.1–0.3 mm.

unbranched, (0.2–)0.3–1(–1.3) dm, glabrous.

Basal leaves

rosulate; petiolate;

petiole base (not thickened), ciliate, (trichomes simple, 0.3–1 mm);

blade oblanceolate to obovate or lanceolate to oblong, 0.8–3(–4.5) cm × 2.5–6(–9) mm, margins entire, surfaces abaxially pubescent with stalked, 2–4-rayed trichomes, 0.1–0.5 mm, with simple ones (midvein obscure, not thickened), adaxially glabrous or sparsely pubescent with simple and stalked, 2–4-rayed trichomes.

rosulate;

petiole (obscure), margin ciliate, (trichomes simple or 2-rayed, 0.25–0.6 mm);

blade linear to oblanceolate or narrowly obovate, (0.3–)0.4–1.2(–1.6) cm × 1–3(–4) mm, margins usually entire, rarely toothed, surfaces abaxially pubescent or glabrous, trichomes simple, sometimes with fewer, short-stalked, 2-rayed ones, (midvein prominent), adaxially often glabrous.

Cauline leaves

0–2;

sessile;

blade oblong to ovate, margins entire, (ciliate).

Racemes

6–18-flowered, ebracteate, considerably elongated in fruit;

rachis not flexuous, pubescent as stem.

(2 or) 3–11(–14)-flowered, usually ebracteate, rarely proximalmost flowers bracteate, elongated in fruit;

rachis not flexuous, glabrous.

Flowers

sepals (purplish tinged), narrowly ovate, 2.5–3 mm, pubescent, (trichomes simple and fewer, stalked, 2-rayed);

petals bright yellow, narrowly obovate, 3.5–5 × 1.7–2.5 mm;

anthers ovate, 0.3–0.4 mm.

sepals (green or purplish), ovate, 1.2–2.2 mm, glabrous or pubescent, (trichomes simple);

petals white, spatulate, 2–2.5 × 0.8–1.5 mm;

anthers ovate, 0.2–0.25 mm.

Fruiting pedicels

ascending to divaricate-ascending, straight or, sometimes, slightly curved upwards, 4–14(–30) mm, pubescent, trichomes simple and 2–4-rayed.

divaricate-ascending, often straight, (1–)2–5(–6) mm, glabrous.

Fruits

elliptic, plane, flattened, 6–10 × 2–3 mm;

valves glabrous or glabrescent, trichomes simple, (not confined to replum);

ovules 12–24 per ovary;

style 0.2–0.3 mm (stigma about as wide as style).

elliptic-lanceolate to oblong, plane, flattened, 3–8(–9) × 1.5–2 mm;

valves glabrous;

ovules 12–24 per ovary;

style 0.05–0.2(–0.3) mm.

Seeds

(pale brown), ovoid, 0.9–1.3 × 0.6–0.9 mm.

oblong to elliptic, 0.8–1 × 0.5–0.6 mm.

= 80.

= 16.

Draba alpina

Draba fladnizensis

Phenology

Flowering Jun–Aug.

Habitat

Moist tundra and ridges, sand and gravel flats or beaches

Rock outcrops and talus, alpine meadows, sandy gravel

Elevation

0-1000 m (0-3300 ft)

0-1400 m at higher latitudes, 3000-3800 m at lower latitudes (0-4600 ft at higher latitudes, 9800-12500 ft at lower latitudes)

Distribution

LB; MB; NU; ON; QC; Greenland; Europe (Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden)

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

AK; CO; UT; WY; BC; NT; NU; QC; YT; Greenland; c Europe; s Europe; Asia; circumpolar and high alpine areas

[WildflowerSearch map]

[BONAP county map]

Discussion

The synonymy above includes two North American names overlooked by C. L. Hitchcock (1941) and R. C. Rollins (1993). Draba alpina was broadly delimited by O. E. Schulz (1927) and included 17 varieties, some of which (e.g., corymbosa, oxycarpa, pilosa) are recognized herein as distinct species. The name D. alpina was so misapplied that it was used for any circumpolar or alpine, scapose, yellow-flowered, perennial Draba. Various chromosome numbers (e.g., 2n = 64, 80, 112, 120; S. I. Warwick and I. A. Al-Shehbaz 2006) have been reported for the species. As circumscribed here, it has the narrow distribution outlined above and includes plants with 2n = 80. Reports of the species from Alaska, Canadian Northwest Territories and Yukon, Siberia, eastern Asia, Russian Far East, and the Central Asian republics are either suspect or very unlikely. The entire D. alpina complex (including the above three species, D. glacialis Adams, D. macounii, etc.) is in need of critical molecular, cytological, and morphological study.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Rollins reduced Draba pattersonii to a variety of D. fladnizensis and separated the two primarily on plant size and minor differences in fruit shape. Examination of D. fladnizensis specimens collected throughout Europe and North America reveals that the alleged differences between the two taxa are artificial. The type material of D. pattersonii, which was collected in Colorado, is a mixture of plants highly variable in their type of indumentum. The specimens have no flowers, but the habit, fruits, and leaves are nearly indistinguishable from those of D. fladnizensis from higher latitudes.

In the absence of flowers, the white-flowered Draba fladnizensis (2n = 16) is often confused with the yellow-flowered D. crassifolia (2n = 40). The latter is an annual or short-lived perennial that rarely forms a well-developed caudex, whereas D. fladnizensis almost always produces a distinct caudex. Although most individuals of both species are scapose, they occasionally produce one or two cauline leaves. The cauline leaves are usually glabrous in D. crassifolia and ciliate in D. fladnizensis; in the latter, the distalmost cauline leaf usually subtends the proximalmost flower. Finally, the seeds in D. fladnizensis are slightly larger (0.8–0.1 × 0.5–0.6 versus 0.7–0.8 × 0.4–0.5 mm) than those of D. crassifolia, though the reliability of this distinction needs to be examined in greater detail. N. H. Holmgren (2005b) reported D. fladnizensis from central Nevada, but we have not seen any material of the species from that state.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source

FNA vol. 7, p. 290.

FNA vol. 7, p. 307.

Parent taxa

Brassicaceae > tribe Arabideae > Draba

Sibling taxa

D. abajoensis, D. albertina, D. aleutica, D. aprica, D. arabisans, D. arctica, D. arctogena, D. argyrea, D. arida, D. asprella, D. asterophora, D. aurea, D. aureola, D. bifurcata, D. borealis, D. brachycarpa, D. brachystylis, D. breweri, D. burkei, D. californica, D. cana, D. carnosula, D. chamissonis, D. cinerea, D. corrugata, D. corymbosa, D. crassa, D. crassifolia, D. cruciata, D. cuneifolia, D. cusickii, D. cyclomorpha, D. daviesiae, D. densifolia, D. exunguiculata, D. fladnizensis, D. glabella, D. globosa, D. graminea, D. grandis, D. grayana, D. heilii, D. helleriana, D. hitchcockii, D. howellii, D. incana, D. incerta, D. incrassata, D. inexpectata, D. jaegeri, D. juvenilis, D. kassii, D. kluanei, D. lactea, D. lemmonii, D. lonchocarpa, D. longisquamosa, D. macounii, D. maguirei, D. malpighiacea, D. micropetala, D. mogollonica, D. monoensis, D. mulliganii, D. murrayi, D. nemorosa, D. nivalis, D. norvegica, D. novolympica, D. oblongata, D. ogilviensis, D. oligosperma, D. oreibata, D. oxycarpa, D. palanderiana, D. pauciflora, D. paucifructa, D. paysonii, D. pectinipila, D. pedicellata, D. pennellii, D. petrophila, D. pilosa, D. platycarpa, D. porsildii, D. praealta, D. pterosperma, D. ramosissima, D. ramulosa, D. rectifructa, D. reptans, D. ruaxes, D. santaquinensis, D. saxosa, D. scotteri, D. serpentina, D. sharsmithii, D. sibirica, D. sierrae, D. simmonsii, D. smithii, D. sobolifera, D. spectabilis, D. sphaerocarpa, D. sphaeroides, D. standleyi, D. stenoloba, D. stenopetala, D. streptobrachia, D. streptocarpa, D. subalpina, D. subcapitata, D. subumbellata, D. trichocarpa, D. ventosa, D. verna, D. viridis, D. weberi, D. yukonensis, D. zionensis

D. abajoensis, D. albertina, D. aleutica, D. alpina, D. aprica, D. arabisans, D. arctica, D. arctogena, D. argyrea, D. arida, D. asprella, D. asterophora, D. aurea, D. aureola, D. bifurcata, D. borealis, D. brachycarpa, D. brachystylis, D. breweri, D. burkei, D. californica, D. cana, D. carnosula, D. chamissonis, D. cinerea, D. corrugata, D. corymbosa, D. crassa, D. crassifolia, D. cruciata, D. cuneifolia, D. cusickii, D. cyclomorpha, D. daviesiae, D. densifolia, D. exunguiculata, D. glabella, D. globosa, D. graminea, D. grandis, D. grayana, D. heilii, D. helleriana, D. hitchcockii, D. howellii, D. incana, D. incerta, D. incrassata, D. inexpectata, D. jaegeri, D. juvenilis, D. kassii, D. kluanei, D. lactea, D. lemmonii, D. lonchocarpa, D. longisquamosa, D. macounii, D. maguirei, D. malpighiacea, D. micropetala, D. mogollonica, D. monoensis, D. mulliganii, D. murrayi, D. nemorosa, D. nivalis, D. norvegica, D. novolympica, D. oblongata, D. ogilviensis, D. oligosperma, D. oreibata, D. oxycarpa, D. palanderiana, D. pauciflora, D. paucifructa, D. paysonii, D. pectinipila, D. pedicellata, D. pennellii, D. petrophila, D. pilosa, D. platycarpa, D. porsildii, D. praealta, D. pterosperma, D. ramosissima, D. ramulosa, D. rectifructa, D. reptans, D. ruaxes, D. santaquinensis, D. saxosa, D. scotteri, D. serpentina, D. sharsmithii, D. sibirica, D. sierrae, D. simmonsii, D. smithii, D. sobolifera, D. spectabilis, D. sphaerocarpa, D. sphaeroides, D. standleyi, D. stenoloba, D. stenopetala, D. streptobrachia, D. streptocarpa, D. subalpina, D. subcapitata, D. subumbellata, D. trichocarpa, D. ventosa, D. verna, D. viridis, D. weberi, D. yukonensis, D. zionensis

Synonyms

D. alpina var. hydeana, D. alpina var. inflatisiliqua

D. fladnizensis var. pattersonii, D. pattersonii, D. pattersonii var. hirticaulis, D. wahlenbergii

Name authority

Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 642. (1753)

Wulfen: in N. J. Jacquin, Misc. Austriac. 1: 147, plate 17, fig. 1. (1778)

Web links

Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).

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Draba alpina

Draba fladnizensis

Draba alpina

Draba fladnizensis