D. aurea, smaller stature, summit, 12,500’ June 23, 2021
Common & scientific name
Golden draba, Draba aurea & Heller’s draba, Draba helleriana
Family
Mustard, Brassicaceae
Location
Summit south, 12,900
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Ah, the wonderful yellow alpine drabas! Time to get the microscope out to study the hairs on its leaves, the only way to tell the various species apart. Draba aurea’s hairs are dense, overlapping each other in a tangled mess of cruciform (4-forked) hairs on top of short stalks, giving the plant an overall grayish-green look. It is common on the high Pass. It also has greenish sepals with clear edges, and does not have denticulate leaves, helping distinguish it from its near twin, D. helleriana, pictured below.
Draba helleriana, summit 12,900’, June 23, 2021