E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Draba nivalis Lilj.
snow draba (snow whitlow-grass; yellow arctic draba)
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Ryan Batten  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #25816)

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Distribution of Draba nivalis
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Species Information

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General:
Tufted perennial herb from a taproot; stems branched, 3-12 (20) cm tall, starlike-hairy.
Leaves:
Usually all basal, oblong-egg-shaped, 0.5-1.5 cm long, 1-4 mm wide, greyish-hairy with overlapping starlike hairs, margins with all starlike hairs or with only simple hairs near base, midribs prominent and persistent; stem leaves absent or sometimes 1.
Flowers:
Racemes 3- to 12-flowered; flower stalks 1-6 (11) mm long, ascending to erect, grey-hairy with starlike hairs; petals white, 2.5-4 mm long; sepals 1.5-2 mm long, glabrous or hairy.
Fruits:
Silicles, 5-12 mm long, 1-2 mm wide, lance-linear to oblong or lance-oblong, plane to contorted, glabrous; styles 0.2-0.5 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Mesic to dry meadows, rocky slopes and scree slopes in the subalpine and alpine zones; infrequent throughout BC; N to AK, YT and NT and E to NF.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Draba nivalis

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
Site Information
 Value / Class

Minimum

Average

Maximum
Elevation (metres) 5 1419 1990
Slope Gradient (%) 0 17 85
Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W] 		0 277 337
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric] 		1 2 4
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class		 B
Number of field plots
 species was recorded in:		 26
Modal BEC Zone Class
 BAFA
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in: BAFA(20), ESSF(4)

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Draba nivalis var. thompsonii C.L. Hitchc.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Brassicaceae
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
 International Plant Names Index
 Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
 Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
 Google Image Search
 Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
 General Botanical References for BC
Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2025-07-15 9:59:27 AM ]
Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.
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