Perennials; caudex branched (with persistent leaf remains); scapose. Stems unbranched, (0.05–) 0.15–0.7 (–1.1) dm, pubescent throughout, sometimes sparsely so distally, trichomes stalked, 2–4-rayed, and simple, 0.05–0.6 mm. Basal leaves (not imbricate); rosulate; petiolate; petiole (base thickened), margin ciliate, (trichomes coarse, simple and 2-rayed, 0.3–1.3 mm); blade broadly oblanceolate to broadly obovate, 0.6–2 cm × 4–12 mm, margins entire, (apex obtuse to rounded, trichomes multibranched, subcruciform), surfaces pubescent abaxially with stalked, 2–4-rayed and, rarely, simple trichomes, 0.1–0.6 mm, adaxially glabrous or with mostly simple trichomes. Cauline leaves 0. Racemes 2–7 (–10) -flowered, ebracteate, often elongated in fruit; rachis often flexuous, pubescent as stem. Fruiting pedicels divaricate to ascending, straight, 1–3 (–4) mm, pubescent as stem. Flowers: sepals oblong, 1.8–2.5 mm, pubescent, (trichomes simple, with short-stalked, 2-rayed ones); petals pale-yellow, narrowly spatulate or oblanceolate, 2–3 × (0.7–) 1–1.5 mm; anthers ovate, 0.3–0.4 mm. Fruits elliptic-ovate, plane, slightly flattened, 5–10 × 2–3.2 mm; valves often densely pubescent, trichomes simple and spurred, 0.1–0.5 mm; ovules (16–) 18–28 per ovary; style 0.05–0.3 mm (stigma about as wide as style). Seeds oblong, 1–1.1 × 0.5–0.6 mm. 2n = 48.

Phenology: Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat: Meadows, mesic tundra, swales, gravelly soils
Elevation: 0-900 m

Distribution

• Generated Map
• Legacy Map

Greenland, N.W.T., Nunavut, Alaska, Europe (Norway [Spitsbergen]), e Asia (Russian Far East), e Asia (Siberia)

Discussion

Draba micropetala, which was not listed by C. L. Hitchcock (1941) or R. C. Rollins (1993), is frequently confused with the closely related tetraploid (2n = 32) D. pauciflora. It is distinguished from the latter by having elongated (versus congested) fruiting racemes, narrower [2–3.2 versus (3–)3.5–5 mm] and elliptic-ovate (versus obovate) fruits, more [(16–)18–28 versus 8–16(–20)] seeds per fruit, and obtuse to rounded (versus subacute to acute) leaf apices with multibranched, subcruciform (versus simple and/or 2-branched) trichomes.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

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