Draba alpina |
Draba ruaxes |
|
---|---|---|
alpine Draba |
coast mountain Draba, coast mountain whitlow-grass, coast mountain whitlow-grass Draba, Rainier Draba |
|
Habit | Perennials; (cespitose); caudex branched (covered with persistent leaves or leaf remains); scapose. | Perennials; (cespitose, forming tufts); caudex branched (with persistent leaf bases, branches some terminating in sterile rosettes); 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, 0.2–0.6(–0.8) dm, often pubescent throughout, sometimes glabrate distally, trichomes simple, 0.4–1 mm, and 2–4-rayed, 0.1–0.4 mm. |
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; subsessile; petiole base and margin ciliate, (trichomes simple, 0.4–1.4 mm); blade oblanceolate to obovate or suborbicular, 0.3–1 cm × 2–4.5 mm, margins entire, surfaces pubescent, abaxially with stalked, 2–10-rayed, stellate trichomes, 0.2–0.8 mm, adaxially with simple trichomes, 0.4–1 mm, sometimes with smaller, 2–4-rayed ones, (midvein obscure). |
Cauline leaves | 0. |
0. |
Racemes | 6–18-flowered, ebracteate, considerably elongated in fruit; rachis not flexuous, pubescent as stem. |
(2–)4–10(–14)-flowered, ebracteate, elongated in fruit; rachis not flexuous, pubescent as stem or 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 ovate, 2–3 mm, pubescent, (trichomes simple with fewer, 2-rayed ones); petals bright yellow, obovate, 4–6 × 2–3.5 mm; anthers oblong, 0.4–0.5 mm. |
Fruiting pedicels | ascending to divaricate-ascending, straight or, sometimes, slightly curved upwards, 4–14(–30) mm, pubescent, trichomes simple and 2–4-rayed. |
ascending to divaricate-ascending, straight or slightly curved upward, 3–7(–9) mm, pubescent or glabrous, trichomes simple and 2–4-rayed. |
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 to lanceolate or ovate to suborbicular, plane, flattened, 4–8(–10) × 3–4.5 mm; valves puberulent, trichomes simple with fewer 2-rayed ones, 0.1–0.35 mm; ovules 12–16 per ovary; style 0.5–0.9(–1.1) mm. |
Seeds | (pale brown), ovoid, 0.9–1.3 × 0.6–0.9 mm. |
oblong, 1.5–2 × 1–1.3 mm. |
2n | = 80. |
= 72. |
Draba alpina |
Draba ruaxes |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | Flowering Jun–Jul. |
Habitat | Moist tundra and ridges, sand and gravel flats or beaches | Rock outcrops, talus slopes, ridges, alpine summits |
Elevation | 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft) | 500-2400 m (1600-7900 ft) |
Distribution |
LB; MB; NU; ON; QC; Greenland; Europe (Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden)
|
AK; WA; AB; BC; YT
|
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.) |
C. L. Hitchcock (1941) treated Draba ruaxes as a variety of D. ventosa; as demonstrated by G. A. Mulligan (1971b), the two are quite distinct. Draba ruaxes is an outcrossing hexaploid with well-formed anthers and pollen, and abundant, simple trichomes on leaves, stems, sepals, and fruits. By contrast, D. ventosa is an apomictic triploid with abortive anthers and/or pollen, and no simple trichomes anywhere on the plant. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 290. | FNA vol. 7, p. 334. |
Parent taxa | Brassicaceae > tribe Arabideae > Draba | Brassicaceae > tribe Arabideae > Draba |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | D. alpina var. hydeana, D. alpina var. inflatisiliqua | D. ventosa var. ruaxes |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 642. (1753) | Payson & H. St. John: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 43: 117. (1930) |
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