Draba densifolia
Dense leaved draba
Family: Brassicaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Dense leaved draba is a native perennial herb found in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, northern Sierra Nevada, and White and Inyo Mountains in alpine barrens and rocky slopes at elevations of 1,900 to 3,650 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces small yellow flowers 2 to 5 millimeters long in compact clusters of 2 to 10 blooms. Growing as a tufted, cushion-forming plant with stems 1.5 to 10 centimeters tall, it forms dense, compact clumps in harsh alpine environments. Its basal leaves are linear to slightly oblanceolate, 2.5 to 9 millimeters long, with prominent midveins and ciliate edges, typically glabrous or with a few 2 to 4-rayed hairs. The fruit is a flat, ovate to lanceolate pod 3 to 6 millimeters long, bearing simple and short-stalked hairs.
Habitat: Alpine barrens, rocky slopes
Bloom period: Jun-Aug
Elevation: 1900-3650 m
Bioregions: SNH, n SNE, W&I
California counties: Alpine, Mono, Inyo, Tuolumne, Amador, Fresno, Modoc, Nevada, El Dorado, Placer, Mariposa
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.