Flora of North America species comparison

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Draba breweri

Brewer's whitlow grass, cushion Draba
Habit Perennials; (cespitose, grayish pubescent); caudex branched (sometimes covered with persistent leaf bases, branches short, compact); sometimes scapose.
Stems

unbranched, (0.1–)0.2–1(–1.5) dm, pubescent throughout, trichomes stalked, 4–10-rayed, 0.1–0.3 mm.
Basal leaves

rosulate; petiolate;

petiole base ciliate, margin not ciliate, (trichomes simple and 2-rayed, 0.3–0.8 mm);

blade oblanceolate to obovate, (0.3–)0.4–1.5(–2.5) cm × 1.5–3(–5) mm, margins usually entire, rarely dentate, surfaces densely pubescent with stalked, 4–10-rayed, stellate trichomes, 0.1–0.2 mm (sometimes 1 or more rays spurred).
Cauline leaves

0–3(–6);

sessile;

blade oblong or lanceolate to ovate, margins entire (sometimes ciliate at base), surfaces usually pubescent as basal.
Racemes

(5–)7–18(–24)-flowered, ebracteate, slightly to considerably elongated in fruit;

rachis not flexuous, pubescent with stalked, 4–10-rayed trichomes, (0.1–0.3 mm).
Flowers

sepals (persistent), ovate, 1.2–2 mm, pubescent, (trichomes short-stalked, 2–6-rayed);

petals white, spatulate to oblanceolate, 2–3 × 0.7–1.1 mm;

anthers ovate, 0.2–0.25 mm.
Fruiting pedicels

ascending, (sometimes slightly appressed to rachis), straight, 1.5–3(–4) mm, pubescent as rachis.
Fruits

lanceolate or oblong to linear, usually slightly to strongly twisted, rarely plane, flattened, 3.5–9(–11) × 1.5–2.5 mm;

valves pubescent, trichomes short-stalked, 2–5-rayed, 0.05–0.25 mm;

ovules 28–40 per ovary;

style 0.1–0.3(–0.4) mm.
Seeds

ovoid, 0.5–0.7 × 0.3–0.5 mm.
2n

= 32.

Draba breweri
Phenology Flowering Jul–Aug.
Habitat Rock outcrops, talus, exposed ridges, alpine areas
Elevation 3100-4100 m (10200-13500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The circumscription of Draba breweri was expanded by R. C. Rollins (1993) to include D. cana. Plants of D. cana differ from those of D. breweri by being non-cespitose (versus cespitose) and taller [(4–)10–30(–38) versus (1–)2–9(–15) cm], and by having basally bracteate (versus ebracteate) racemes, and stems, pedicels, and sepals pubescent with a mixture of simple and branched (versus exclusively branched) trichomes. Draba breweri is known to us from Alpine, Fresno, Inyo, Mono, Plumas, Tulare, and Tuolumne counties.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 297.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Arabideae > Draba
Sibling taxa
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. 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
Synonyms D. breweri var. sublaxa
Name authority S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 23: 260. (1888)
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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