Common name:
Fewseed draba
Family:
Scientific name:
Draba oligosperma
Main flower color:
Range:
Sierra Nevada, the Great Basin and the northern Rocky Mountains
Height:
A few inches - forms mats
Habitat:
Exposed, rocky or gravelly places, tundra, up to 13,000 feet
Leaves:
Basal, linear to narrowly oblanceolate, up to 0.5 inches long, covered by branched hairs
Season:
May to July
In the Southwest, draba oligosperma is a high elevation perennial species, found in exposed, rocky places above the timberline; further north it grows in similar habitats at much lower elevations. Plants form low, dense mats, with narrow, clustered leaves (basal only), from which rise the leafless flower stalks. Leaves have a prominent midvein and are covered on both sides by short, branched, comb-like hairs, with up to 15 rays.
The inflorescence is a racemic cluster, usually with between four and 12 heads. Flowers are formed of four hairy green sepals and four greenish-yellow petals, slightly longer than the sepals. The petals tend not to open fully. Fruits are ovate pods, swollen towards the base, flatter above, covered by branched (two-rayed) hairs, and with a short, persistent style at the tip.
The inflorescence is a racemic cluster, usually with between four and 12 heads. Flowers are formed of four hairy green sepals and four greenish-yellow petals, slightly longer than the sepals. The petals tend not to open fully. Fruits are ovate pods, swollen towards the base, flatter above, covered by branched (two-rayed) hairs, and with a short, persistent style at the tip.
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