Draba incerta Payson
Yellowstone draba (Yellowstone whitlow-grass)
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Photograph

© Kevin deBoer     (Photo ID #26700)


Map

E-Flora BC Static Map

Distribution of Draba incerta
Click here to view the full interactive map and legend

Species Information

General:
Tufted perennial herb from a taproot and a usually much branched stem-base; stems erect, 2-20 cm tall, starlike-hairy.
Leaves:
All basal, narrowly oblanceolate, 0.7-1.5 cm long, 1-4 mm wide, hairy with stalked, 4-rayed, starlike hairs, the hairs again branched; margins hairy-fringed with branched or starlike hairs; midribs somewhat persistent as threadlike processes; stem leaves absent except on new shoots.
Flowers:
Racemes 3- to 15-flowered; petals yellow, 4-5.5 mm long; sepals 2.5-3.5 mm long, sparsely soft-hairy.
Fruits:
Silicles, 6-10 mm long, 2.5-3.5 mm wide, lanceolate to egg-shaped, plane, hairy to nearly glabrous or glabrous; lowest fruiting stalks 4-18 mm long, ususally twice the length of the silicles, ascending, starlike-hairy; styles 0.4-1 mm long; seeds 8-14, 1.2-1.5 mm long.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Illustration

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Draba incerta

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

Avg

Min

Max

Elevation (metres)
2219 1370 2608
Slope Gradient (%)
37 0 92

Aspect (degrees)
[0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]

229 12 330
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR)
[0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic;
8 - hydric]
2 0 5
Modal Nutrient Regime
Class
B
# of field plots
 species was recorded in:
53
Modal BEC Zone Class
AT

All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in

AT(25), BAFA(8), ESSF(11), IMA(4), MS(1), SWB(1)

Habitat and Range

Dry meadows, cliffs, fellfields and scree slopes in the upper montane, subalpine, and alpine zones; common throughout BC E of the Coast-Cascade Mountains; N to AK and YT, E to AB and S to WA, ID, MT and WY, disjunct in PQ.

SourceThe Illustrated Flora of British Columbia