Draba glabella |
Draba verna |
|
---|---|---|
golden Draba, rock whitlow-grass, smooth Draba, smooth whitlow-grass, smooth whitlow-mustard |
common Draba, common whitlow-grass, early witlow grass, nailwort, shadflower, spring Draba, spring whitlow-grass, spring whitlow-mustard, vernal whitlow grass, whitlow grass, whitlow wort |
|
Habit | Perennials; (sometimes cespitose); caudex simple or branched; not scapose. | Annuals; scapose. |
Stems | branched or unbranched, (0.4–)1–3.5(–4.7) dm, often pubescent throughout (sometimes sparsely so distally), sometimes glabrous, trichomes simple and 2-rayed, (non-crisped), 0.2–1 mm, or subsessile, stellate-pectinate, and 3–8-rayed, 0.1–0.3 mm. |
(few to many from base), unbranched, (0.2–)0.5–2(–3) dm, pubescent proximally, glabrous distally, trichomes simple and 2(–4)-rayed, 0.1–0.4 mm. |
Basal leaves | rosulate; petiolate; petiole ciliate, (trichomes simple, 0.1–0.8 mm); blade oblanceolate to spatulate or linear-oblanceolate, (0.6–)1–3.5(–5) cm × 2–8(–10) mm, margins dentate or denticulate, (pubescent as petiole), surfaces pubescent with non-crisped, minutely stalked, 4–8(–12)-rayed, stellate-pectinate trichomes, 0.15–0.6 mm, (midvein obscure abaxially), adaxially sometimes also with simple trichomes, or glabrous. |
rosulate; petiolate; blade obovate, spatulate, oblanceolate, lanceolate, oblong, or, rarely, linear, 0.2–1.8(–3) cm × (0.5–)1–5(–10) mm, margins entire or 1–5-toothed on each side, surfaces pubescent with simple or stalked, 2–4-rayed trichomes, 0.1–0.5 mm. |
Cauline leaves | 2–17(–25); sessile; blade ovate to oblong, margins dentate to subentire, surfaces often pubescent as basal, or predominantly with simple trichomes adaxially. |
0. |
Racemes | (5–)8–26(–34)-flowered, ebracteate or proximalmost 1 or 2 flowers bracteate, elongated in fruit; rachis not flexuous, usually glabrous, rarely pubescent as stem. |
4–20(–30)-flowered, ebracteate, usually considerably elongated in fruit; rachis usually flexuous, glabrous. |
Flowers | sepals oblong, 2–3.5 mm, pubescent, (trichomes simple and short-stalked, 2–4-rayed); petals white, broadly obovate, 4–5.5 × 1.5–3 mm; anthers ovate, 0.3–0.5 mm. |
sepals (green or purplish), oblong, 1–2.5 mm, glabrescent or pubescent, (trichomes simple or 2-rayed); petals white, deeply 2-fid, (1.5–)2–4.5(–6) × 1–2 mm; anthers ovate, 0.2–0.4 mm. |
Fruiting pedicels | divaricate-ascending to suberect, straight, (1–)3–10(–16) mm, glabrous or pubescent as stem. |
divaricate to ascending, straight or slightly curved upward, (2–)5–20(–35) mm, glabrous. |
Fruits | oblong to ovate or ovoid to lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, usually plane, rarely slightly twisted, flattened or inflated, (3–)5–12(–16) × 2–3.5 mm; valves glabrous or pubescent, trichomes simple or 2–4-rayed, 0.05–0.2(–0.4) mm; ovules (20–)24–36 per ovary; style 0.05–0.2(–0.5) mm. |
obovate, oblanceolate, lanceolate, elliptic, oblong, or linear, plane, flattened, (2.5–)4–9(–12) × 1.5–2.5(–3.5) mm; valves glabrous; ovules (20–)32–70(–84) per ovary; style 0.02–0.2 mm. |
Seeds | oblong, 0.9–1.1 × 0.5–0.7 mm. |
ovoid (slightly flattened), 0.3–0.6(–0.8) × 0.2–0.4 mm. |
2n | = 64, 80. |
= 14, 16, 20, 24, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 52, 54, 58, 60, 64. |
Draba glabella |
Draba verna |
|
Phenology | Flowering May–Aug. | Flowering Feb–May. |
Habitat | Rock outcrops, talus, rocky ridges and knolls, meadows, tundra, gravelly beaches sandy river margins, disturbed soils | Cedar glades, lawns, fields, pastures, waste places, grassy hillsides, disturbed sites, roadsides |
Elevation | 0-1400 m (0-4600 ft) | 0-2500 m (0-8200 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; ME; VT; WI; BC; MB; NB; NL; NS; NT; NU; ON; QC; YT; Greenland; n Europe (n Russia); e Asia (Russian Far East, Siberia) |
AL; AR; CA; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MS; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SC; TN; UT; VA; VT; WA; WV; WY; AB; BC; NB; ON; QC; Europe; Asia; nw Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Central America, South America, Australia]
|
Discussion | Draba glabella was reported by J. V. Freudenstein and J. K. Marr (1986) from Michigan, but that record likely was based on plants of D. arabisans, a highly variable species that occurs in that state. Draba glabella is extremely variable in indumentum, number of cauline leaves, fruiting pedicel length, fruit shape and size, style length, and seed number. M. L. Fernald (1934) divided it into five species and three varieties; R. C. Rollins (1993) recognized three species. Of these, G. A. Mulligan (1970, 1976) reduced D. laurentiana to synonymy of D. glabella and treated D. pycnosperma as a variety. Of all the segregates of D. glabella, var. pycnosperma might merit recognition. It is restricted to northwestern Newfoundland and northeastern Quebec, where var. glabella also grows. The main difference between the two varieties is the presence in var. pycnosperma of plump (versus flattened), ovoid to oblong fruits. Draba sornborgeri, recognized by Rollins as a distinct species, is merely a glabrescent form of D. glabella. Because of the tremendous morphological variability, wide distribution, extensive synonymy, and different chromosome numbers, D. glabella will require extensive molecular, cytological, and morphological studies to properly delimit the species and any potential infraspecific taxa. Some forms of Draba glabella approach both D. borealis and D. praealta, but these can be distinguished by examining the trichomes on the abaxial surfaces of basal leaf blades. In D. glabella, these trichomes are minutely stalked or subsessile and have branched rays. In the other two species, the trichomes have long stalks and the rays are always unbranched. The Linnaean name Draba hirta was applied to this species previously, and still is in Russia. The name is not typified, and the material at LINN is in bad condition and probably belongs to two species, D. glabella and D. norvegica, as recognized here. A typification of D. hirta may necessitate its re-introduction for this species. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Draba verna represents a highly variable and taxonomically difficult complex within which species, subspecies, varieties, and forms have been named (O. E. Schulz 1927); only those synonyms pertaining to North America are listed above. Most of the taxonomic difficulties are the results of disploidy, autogamy, and hybridization. The morphological extremes are connected by intermediate forms in every conceivable character. Furthermore, there appears to be no correlation between morphology, cytology, geography, and ecology to support the division of this complex into meaningful taxa. A complex cytological picture was presented by Ø. Winge (1940), including the highest count of 2n = 94, which has not been confirmed by subsequent botanists. Erophila vulgaris de Candolle is an illegitimate name for Draba verna. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 307. | FNA vol. 7, p. 345. |
Parent taxa | Brassicaceae > tribe Arabideae > Draba | Brassicaceae > tribe Arabideae > Draba |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | D. arabisans var. canadensis, D. arabisans var. orthocarpa, D. canadensis, D. canadensis var. pycnosperma, D. daurica, D. glabella var. megasperma, D. glabella var. orthocarpa, D. glabella var. pycnosperma, D. henneana, D. hirta var. laurentiana, D. hirta var. pycnosperma, D. laurentiana, D. megasperma, D. norvegica var. pleiophylla, D. pycnosperma, D. sornborgeri | D. boerhaavii, D. praecox, D. verna var. aestivalis, D. verna var. boerhaavii, Erophila boerhaavii, Erophila krockeri, Erophila praecox, Erophila verna, Erophila verna subsp. praecox |
Name authority | Pursh: Fl. Amer. Sept. 2: 434. (1813) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 642. (1753) |
Web links |
|