Draba alpina |
Draba serpentina |
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alpine Draba |
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Habit | Perennials; (cespitose); caudex branched (covered with persistent leaves or leaf remains); scapose. | Perennials; (cespitose); caudex branched (with persistent leaves, branches sometimes 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, 0.3–1.3 dm, glabrous throughout. |
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; sessile; blade obovate to obovate-oblanceolate, 0.4–1 cm × (2–)2.5–4(–5) mm, margins entire, (ciliate, trichomes simple, 0.2–0.5 mm, apex acute), surfaces glabrous. |
Cauline leaves | 0. |
0. |
Racemes | 6–18-flowered, ebracteate, considerably elongated in fruit; rachis not flexuous, pubescent as stem. |
6–14-flowered, ebracteate, 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 ovate, 2–3 mm, glabrous; petals white, spatulate to obovate, 5–6.5 × 2–3 mm; anthers ovate to 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. |
divaricate-ascending, straight, 5–13 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). |
lanceolate to narrowly oblong, slightly twisted or plane, flattened, 6–12 × 2–3.5 mm; valves glabrous; ovules 8–16 per ovary; style 0.6–1.8(–2.5) mm. |
Seeds | (pale brown), ovoid, 0.9–1.3 × 0.6–0.9 mm. |
oblong, 1.1–1.4 × 0.7–0.8 mm. |
2n | = 80. |
= 52. |
Draba alpina |
Draba serpentina |
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Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | Flowering May–Jul. |
Habitat | Moist tundra and ridges, sand and gravel flats or beaches | Rock outcrops, talus, and gravelly soil in mixed conifer and subalpine meadow communities |
Elevation | 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft) | 3200-3600 m (10500-11800 ft) |
Distribution |
LB; MB; NU; ON; QC; Greenland; Europe (Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden)
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NV |
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.) |
Of conservation concern. Draba serpentina has been treated by other authors as a variety or synonym of D. oreibata. As indicated by I. A. Al-Shehbaz and M. D. Windham (2007), the two taxa are morphologically distinct, have different chromosome numbers, and are separated by over 480 kilometers. They are treated herein as separate species. Draba serpentina is known only from the Snake Range (White Pine County) and the Toiyabe Mountains (Lander County) in central Nevada. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 290. | FNA vol. 7, p. 335. |
Parent taxa | Brassicaceae > tribe Arabideae > Draba | Brassicaceae > tribe Arabideae > Draba |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | D. alpina var. hydeana, D. alpina var. inflatisiliqua | D. oreibata var. serpentina |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 642. (1753) | (Tiehm & P. K. Holmgren) Al-Shehbaz & Windham: Harvard Pap. Bot. 12: 414. (2007) |
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