Home/Species/ Denseleaf Whitlow-grass

Draba densifolia

Nutt.

Denseleaf Whitlow-grass

G5Secure Found in 20 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G5SecureGlobal Rank

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.159845

Element CodePDBRA110W0

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassDicotyledoneae

OrderCapparales

FamilyBrassicaceae

GenusDraba

Other Common Names

denseleaf draba (EN) Dense-leaved Draba (EN) Drave à feuillage dense (FR)

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Taxonomic Comments

This species has been confused at times with D. paysonii (Gjaerevoll 1963, Mulligan 1971) and D. stenopetala (Hulten 1941, Porsild 1966,), but is now considered distinct from both of these (Mulligan 1976, Hulten 1968).

Conservation Status

Review Date1990-11-30

Change Date1991-08-05

Edition Date1990-11-30

Edition AuthorsWilliams, C.L.

Range Extent20,000-2,500,000 square km (about 8000-1,000,000 square miles)

Number of Occurrences21 - 80

Rank Reasons

D. DENSIFOLIA has a moderately widespread range in generally remote habitats. There is little additional information on distribution or abundance.

Range Extent Comments

Southern British Columbia south to Sierran California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah. Widely spaced sites in central and eastern Alaska (Hitchcock 1973). Range in Hulten (1968) appears to be the four collections of Gjaerevoll (1963), three of which have been reidentified to other species.

Occurrences Comments

Estimate is based on the species range.

Ecology & Habitat

Description

Dense-leaf Draba is a mat-forming perennial with leaf rosettes at the ends of numerous rootcrown branches, which are clothed with old leaf bases. The leafless stems are 3-15 mm high and arise from some of the rosettes. The fleshy, narrowly lance-shaped leaves are 2-12 mm long and have a prominent midvein and straight, unbranched hairs on the entire margins but are otherwise mostly glabrous. 3-15 stalked flowers are borne at the tops of the stems. Each flower has 4 separate sepals, 4 separate, yellow petals that are 2-6 mm long, and 4 long and 2 short stamens. The style is 0.5-1.0 mm long. The hairy, egg-shaped capsules are 2-7 mm long and are borne on erect or ascending stalks.

Diagnostic Characteristics

There are many similar-appearing, yellow-flowered, mat-forming species of DRABA in our area. A technical manual and hand lens or microscope is required for positive identification. D. DAVIESIAE also has glabrous leaves, except for simple hairs on the margins, but it has glabrous fruits.

Habitat

Alpine tundra and scree slopes; generally on dry sites.

Other Nations (2)

CanadaN3

Province	Rank	Native
Alberta	S2	Yes
Yukon Territory	S2	Yes
British Columbia	SU	Yes

United StatesNNR

Province	Rank	Native
Alaska	S2	Yes
Nevada	S3	Yes
California	SNR	Yes
Oregon	SNR	Yes
Washington	SNR	Yes
Wyoming	S2	Yes
Montana	S2	Yes
Idaho	SNR	Yes
Utah	S1	Yes

Plant Characteristics

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (20)

California (13)

Area	Forest	Acres
Coyote North	Inyo National Forest	11,932
Coyote Southeast	Inyo National Forest	53,159
Ebbetts	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	255
Hall Natural Area	Inyo National Forest	5,236
Hoover - Virginia Lks	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	5,050
Horse Mdw.	Inyo National Forest	5,687
Long Meadow	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	11,967
Mt. Jackson	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	20,721
Mt. Olsen	Inyo National Forest	2,161
Sherwin	Inyo National Forest	3,140
Sweetwater (CA)	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	19,241
Table Mtn.	Inyo National Forest	4,215
Tioga Lake	Inyo National Forest	829

Nevada (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Rose - Galena	Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest	3,711

Oregon (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Drake - Mcdowell	Fremont National Forest	5,767

Utah (2)

Area	Forest	Acres
418040	Uinta National Forest	1,702
White Pine	Wasatch-Cache National Forest	1,942

Washington (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Devils Gulch	Wenatchee National Forest	24,419
Lion Rock	Wenatchee National Forest	4,692
Mill Creek Watershed (WA)	Umatilla National Forest	16,747

References (6)

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2010. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 7. Magnoliophyta: Salicaceae to Brassicaceae. Oxford University Press, New York. xxii + 797 pp.
Gjaerevoll, O. 1963. Botanical investigations in central Alaska, especially in the White Mts. Part II: Dicotyledons, salicaceae--umbelliferae. Det. Kgl. Norske Videnskabers Selskabs Skrifter 4. 115 p.
Hitchcock, C.L., and A. Cronquist. 1973. Flora of the Pacific Northwest: An Illustrated Manual. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington. 730 pp.
Hulten, E. 1968. Flora of Alaska and neighboring territories. Stanford Univ. Press, Palo Alto, CA. 1008 pp.
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Mulligan, G. A. 1976. The genus <i>Draba </i>in Canada and Alaska: key and summary. Canadian Journal of Botany 54:1386-1393.