Flora of North America species comparison

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Draba pauciflora

Draba aurea

fewflower Draba

golden Draba, golden Draba whitlow-grass, golden whitlow-grass, twisted-pod Draba
Habit Perennials; caudex branched (with persistent, thickened leaf midveins); scapose. Perennials; (not cespitose); caudex simple or branched; not scapose.
Stems

unbranched, (0.05–)0.1–0.8 dm, pubescent throughout, sometimes sparsely so distally, trichomes simple, 0.3–0.7 mm, and 2–4-rayed, 0.05–0.2 mm.

sometimes branched distally, (0.5–) 1–3.5(–5.2) dm, pubescent throughout, trichomes simple (non-crisped), 0.4–1.3 mm, and 3–6-rayed ones, 0.1–0.5 mm.
Basal leaves

(not imbricate); rosulate;

petiolate;

petiole ciliate, (trichomes simple and 2-rayed, 0.4–1.3 mm);

blade oblanceolate, 0.5–1.1 cm × 1.5–4 mm, margins entire, (pubescent as petiole, apex acute to subacute, trichomes simple and/or branched), surfaces pubescent, abaxially with simple trichomes, to 1 mm, and stalked, 2–4-rayed ones, 0.1–0.5 mm, adaxially with simple trichomes, 0.4–1 mm, (sometimes glabrous).

rosulate;

petiolate;

petiole (distinct or obscure) ciliate, (trichomes simple, to 0.8 mm);

blade oblanceolate to obovate, (0.4–)1–3.7(–5) cm × (1–)2–7(–10) mm, margins entire or denticulate, surfaces pubescent, trichomes stalked, (2–)4–7 (or 8)-rayed, 0.2–0.5(–0.6) mm.
Cauline leaves

0.

5–20(–26);

sessile;

blade oblong to lanceolate or ovate, margins entire or dentate, surfaces pubescent as basal, sometimes adaxially with simple trichomes.
Racemes

2–8-flowered (congested), ebracteate, slightly elongated in fruit;

rachis not flexuous, pubescent as stem.

(10–)18–52(–72)-flowered, usually bracteate on proximalmost 1–12(–17) flowers, rarely ebracteate, elongated in fruit;

rachis not flexuous, pubescent as stem.
Flowers

sepals ovate, 1.8–2.3 mm, pubescent, (trichomes simple with fewer, short-stalked ones);

petals pale yellow, narrowly spatulate to oblanceolate, 2.5–3 × 0.8–1.5 mm;

anthers ovate, 0.2–0.3 mm.

sepals (green or yellowish), oblong, 2.2–3 mm, pubescent, (trichomes simple and branched);

petals yellow, oblanceolate, 3.5–5 × 1.5–2.5 mm;

anthers ovate, 0.4–0.5 mm.
Fruiting pedicels

divaricate to ascending, straight or slightly curved upward, 1.5–4 mm, pubescent as stem or trichomes branched.

divaricate-ascending to ascending or suberect, straight, 3–13(–20) mm, pubescent as stem.
Fruits

often obovate, plane, slightly flattened, 5–10 × (3–)3.5–5 mm;

valves glabrate or sparsely pubescent, 0.05–0.2 mm;

ovules 8–16(–20) per ovary;

style 0.05–0.15 mm.

(often subappressed to rachis), lanceolate to linear-lanceolate or narrowly oblong, slightly twisted or plane, flattened, (6–)9–14(–17) × 2–3.5 mm;

valves pubescent, trichomes simple and short-stalked, 2–4-rayed, 0.05–0.3 mm;

ovules 28–38(–44) per ovary;

style 0.5–1.2(–1.5) mm.
Seeds

ovoid, 1.1–1.6 × 0.7–1 mm.

oblong, 0.9–1.3 × 0.5–0.7 mm.
2n

= 32.

= 74.

Draba pauciflora

Draba aurea
Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug. Flowering Jun–Aug.
Habitat Damp rocky slopes, tundra, swales, dry silt plains Rock outcrops, talus, damp gullies and meadows, subalpine conifer woodlands, alpine slopes and turf, tundra, road banks, river gravel
Elevation 0-1000 m (0-3300 ft) (0-)700-4200 m ((0-)2300-13800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; NT; NU; Greenland; Europe (Norway [Svalbard], Russia); e Asia (Russian Far East, n Siberia)
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; AZ; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; SD; UT; WA; WY; AB; BC; MB; NF; NT; NU; ON; QC; SK; YT; Greenland
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

O. E. Schulz (1927) recognized five varieties within Draba pauciflora, of which four were listed from North America. Schulz’s concept of D. pauciflora encompassed multiple taxa that we recognize as separate species, including D. micropetala and D. subcapitata. C. L. Hitchcock (1941) and R. C. Rollins (1993) did not mention D. pauciflora; the latter (and G. A. Mulligan 1974b) referred the North American material to D. adamsii.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Draba aurea is extremely variable in plant size, number of cauline leaves, number of bracteate flowers, style length, and fruit size, shape, orientation, twisting, and indumentum. Much of the variation in the number of bracts, style length, fruit twisting, and growth habit occurs in Greenland, where the type specimen was collected and where the species is found near sea level.

The highly deviant chromosome counts (e.g., 2n = 40 + 1, 64, 82) listed by R. C. Rollins (1993) and S. I. Warwick and I. A. Al-Shehbaz (2006) are mostly unvouchered and have to be disregarded; counts of 2n = ca. 80 have been re-assigned to Draba glabella. Published (G. A. Mulligan 2002) and unpublished counts made by Mulligan and M. D. Windham from Alaska, British Columbia, Colorado, Quebec, Utah, and Yukon indicate that the most common chromosome number of D. aurea is 2n = 74 (or 72). This suggests that the species is an allopolyploid (hexaploid or higher), incorporating genomes from both euploid and aneuploid lineages (M. A. Beilstein and Windham 2003). Detailed cytological and molecular studies are much needed to fully understand this widely distributed and highly variable species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 326. FNA vol. 7, p. 294.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Arabideae > Draba 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. breweri, 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. 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
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. aureola, D. bifurcata, D. borealis, D. brachycarpa, D. brachystylis, D. breweri, 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. adamsii D. aurea var. aureiformis, D. aurea var. leiocarpa, D. aurea var. luteola, D. aureiformis, D. aureiformis var. leiocarpa, D. bakeri, D. decumbens, D. henneana var. maccallae, D. luteola, D. luteola var. minganensis, D. maccallae, D. minganensis, D. surculifera, D. uber
Name authority R. Brown: Chlor. Melvill., 266. (1823) Vahl ex Hornemann: Fors. Oecon. Plantel. ed. 2, 599. (1806)
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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