''Draba fladnizensis'' is a species of plant in the family
Brassicaceae known by the common names arctic draba, Austrian draba, and white arctic whitlow-grass. It has a
circumpolar distribution, occurring throughout the northern
latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. It is present in Europe, Asia, and North America from
Alaska across northern Canada to
Greenland. Its distribution extends south through the higher elevations in the
Rocky Mountains to
Colorado and
Utah.
[''Draba fladnizensis''.]
Flora of North America.[Williams, Tara Y. 1990]
In: Fire Effects Information System, nline U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory. It is common and widespread in the
Canadian Arctic Archipelago, occurring on several Arctic islands including
Baffin,
Devon, and
Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island ( iu, script=Latn, Umingmak Nuna, lit=land of muskoxen; french: île d'Ellesmere) is Canada's northernmost and List of Canadian islands by area, third largest island, and the List of islands by area, tenth largest in the world. ...
s.
[S.G. Aiken, et al. 1999 onwards]
Flora of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval.
Version: 29 April 2003. It is named after the
Austrian village of
Flattnitz
Flattnitz Pass (el. 1400 m.) is a high mountain pass in the Austrian Alps.
The pass is located in the States of Austria, state of Carinthia, connecting Glödnitz in the Gurk (river), Gurk valley with Stadl an der Mur, Stadl on the Mur (river), Mu ...
, in the
Gurktaler Alpen.
This petite perennial plant grows at ground level, sometimes forming a mat around its
caudex
A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695
In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...
. The basal leaves have blades up to 1.6 centimeters long which are variable in shape. They have tiny hairs along the edges. There are sometimes one or two leaves on the short flowering stem. This grows a few centimeters tall and has two or more flowers in a
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
. The flower has white petals no more than 2.5 millimeters long and greenish or purplish
sepals. The fruit is a small, flattened
silicle.
[''Draba fladnizensis''.]
The Nature Conservancy.
References
External links
*
USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q159494
fladnizensis
Flora of the Arctic
Flora of the Rocky Mountains
Flora of the Alps
Plants described in 1779
Taxa named by Franz Xaver von Wulfen