Draba incerta |
Draba alpina |
|
---|---|---|
whitlow-wort, Yellowstone Draba, Yellowstone Draba whitlow-wort, Yellowstone whitlow-grass, Yellowstone whitlow-wort |
alpine Draba |
|
Habit | Perennials; (cespitose, often pulvinate); caudex branched (dense with persistent leaf remains, branches sometimes terminating in sterile rosettes); scapose. | Perennials; (cespitose); caudex branched (covered with persistent leaves or leaf remains); scapose. |
Stems | unbranched, (0.2–)0.4–1.4(–2.1) dm, often pubescent throughout, sometimes glabrous distally, trichomes often simple and 2–5-rayed, 0.1–0.5 mm, (sometimes with mostly subpectinate ones). |
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. |
Basal leaves | rosulate; petiolate; petiole (0–1 cm), ciliate throughout; blade narrowly oblanceolate to linear, (0.4–)0.6–1.7(–2.5) cm × (1–)1.5–3.5(–5) mm, margins entire, (ciliate, trichomes usually simple, rarely 2-rayed, 0.2–1.1 mm), surfaces usually pubescent with short-stalked, pectinate trichomes, 0.15–0.5 mm, sometimes also with 4–6-rayed ones, (midvein usually obscure abaxially), sometimes glabrous adaxially. |
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. |
Cauline leaves | usually 0 (or 1, as a bract); sessile; blade linear to oblong, margins entire, surfaces pubescent as basal. |
0. |
Racemes | 3–14(–30)-flowered, usually ebracteate, rarely proximalmost flowers bracteate, elongated in fruit; rachis not flexuous, glabrous or pubescent as stem. |
6–18-flowered, ebracteate, considerably elongated in fruit; rachis not flexuous, pubescent as stem. |
Flowers | sepals broadly ovate, 2.5–3.5(–4) mm, pubescent, (trichomes simple and 2- or 3-rayed); petals yellow (fading white), oblanceolate to obovate, 4–6 × 1.5–2.5 mm; anthers ovate, 0.3–0.5 mm. |
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. |
Fruiting pedicels | ascending, straight, (2.5–)4–11(–27) mm, glabrous or pubescent, trichomes 2–5-rayed or pectinate. |
ascending to divaricate-ascending, straight or, sometimes, slightly curved upwards, 4–14(–30) mm, pubescent, trichomes simple and 2–4-rayed. |
Fruits | broadly ovate to lanceolate, plane, flattened, 5–9(–11) × 2–4 mm; valves glabrous or puberulent, trichomes simple and 2-rayed, 0.05–0.3 mm; ovules 8–16(–20) per ovary; style 0.2–0.9 mm. |
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). |
Seeds | oblong, 1.1–1.5 × 0.7–1 mm. |
(pale brown), ovoid, 0.9–1.3 × 0.6–0.9 mm. |
2n | = 112. |
= 80. |
Draba incerta |
Draba alpina |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Aug. | Flowering Jun–Aug. |
Habitat | Rock outcrops, talus, gravelly areas, tundra | Moist tundra and ridges, sand and gravel flats or beaches |
Elevation | 0-3300 m (0-10800 ft) | 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft) |
Distribution |
AK; CO; ID; MT; NV; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; QC; YT
|
LB; MB; NU; ON; QC; Greenland; Europe (Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden)
|
Discussion | Draba incerta was shown by G. A. Mulligan (1972) to be sexually reproducing and 14-ploid with x = 8. It is often confused with the apomict D. oligosperma (2n = 32, 64). Draba incerta is readily separated from D. oligosperma by having well-formed (versus abortive) anthers and pollen, stalked (versus sessile) leaf trichomes, and ciliate (versus non-ciliate) basal leaves with obscure (versus prominent) midveins. Although both species have leafless scapes, one often finds a bract adnate to, or subtending, the proximalmost pedicel in D. incerta. Draba incerta is found near sea level in Alaska. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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.) |
Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 313. | FNA vol. 7, p. 290. |
Parent taxa | Brassicaceae > tribe Arabideae > Draba | Brassicaceae > tribe Arabideae > Draba |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | D. exalata, D. incerta var. laevicapsula, D. incerta var. peasei, D. laevicapsula, D. peasei | D. alpina var. hydeana, D. alpina var. inflatisiliqua |
Name authority | Payson: Amer. J. Bot. 4: 261. (1917) | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 642. (1753) |
Web links |
|