Weed Information: Draba verna (whitlowgrass, spring)
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Draba verna (whitlowgrass, spring)

Family: Brassicaceae

Description

One of the first species to bloom after the snow goes off in the spring. The flowers are so tiny that it is seldom noticed by most people but is truly a source of joy to those craving a harbinger of warmer weather after a long winter. The four petals are white and deeply bilobed.

Characteristics

Flower Color
  • White
Inflorescence Type (How the flowers are arranged on the plant)
  • Axillary racemes
  • Terminal raceme
Number of Petals
  • 4 petals
  • 8 petals
Petal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Petal Tip
  • Bilobed
Flower Symmetry
  • Flowers regular
Flower Length (Head length in the Asteraceae)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Flower Width (Head width in the Asteraceae)
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
Number of Sepals
  • 4 sepals
Sepal Separation
  • Completely free to base
Sepal Tip
  • Pointed
Flower Sex
  • Bisexual (perfect)
Number of Styles
  • 1 style
Number of Stamens
  • 6 stamens
Stamens Attached to the Petals
  • Stamens NOT attached to the petals
Stamens Connate (united)
  • Filaments or anthers NOT united

Carpel Separation
  • Carpels united (or one)
Number of Carpels
  • 2 carpels
Ovary Position
  • Superior (hypogynous)
Fruit Type
  • Capsule, 2-celled
Fruit Length at Maturity
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
  • 5 mm (.20 inch)
  • 6 mm (.24 inch)
  • 7 mm (.28 inch)
  • 8 mm (.32 inch)
  • 9 mm (.36 inch)
  • 1.0 cm (.40 inch)
Fruit Width at Maturity
  • 1 mm (.04 inch) or less
  • 2 mm (.08 inch)
  • 3 mm (.12 inch)
  • 4 mm (.16 inch)
Burs
  • Fruit or seed NOT bur-like

Leaf Arrangement
  • All basal
Leaf Type
  • Simple (including lobed leaves)
Stipules
  • Lacking
Tendrils
  • Tendrils absent
Venation
  • Pinnate
Petiole (leaf stem) Blade Ratio
  • Petiole absent (leaf sessile)
Leaf Length (blade PLUS petiole)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
  • 2 - 4 cm (.80 - 1.60 inches)
Leaf Width
  • 5 - 10 mm (.20 - .40 inch)
  • 1 - 2 cm (.40 - .80 inch)
Leaf Shape (simple leaves only)
  • Oblanceolate
  • Spatulate
Leaf or Leaflet Margin
  • Dentate
  • Entire
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Base
  • Acute (cuneate)
Leaf or Leaflet Tip
  • Acute
Leaf or Leaflet Blade Surface
  • Glabrous (NO hairs)
  • Sparsely hairy
  • Stellate (star shaped)
Succulence
  • Not succulent

Milky Juice
  • Juice NOT milky (watery)
Woodiness
  • Herbaceous
Spines or Thorns
  • Spines or Thorns ABSENT
Aromatic (vegetative structures)
  • Not aromatic
Life Cycle
  • Annual
Growth Habit (while flowering)
  • Erect, columnar (narrow)
  • Erect, spherical (bushy)
Plant Height at Maturity
  • 1 - 5 cm (.40 - 2.0 inches)
  • 5 - 10 cm (2.0 - 4.0 inches)
  • 1 - 2 dm (4.0 - 8.0 inches)
Wind Dissemination
  • Not wind disseminated
Moisture Regime
  • Mesic
Chlorophyll
  • Present

Stem Cross Section
  • Round
Flowering Stem Leaves
  • Stem leafless
Main Stem Branches
  • Main stem unbranched
  • Main stem branched

Root or Vegetative Propagule
  • Tap Root

US State
  • Alabama
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Georgia
  • Illinois
  • Kentucky
  • Massachusetts
  • Maine
  • Michigan
  • Missouri
  • Mississippi
  • North Carolina
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Ohio
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Tennessee
  • Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • West Virginia
  • Indiana
  • Maryland
  • Rhode Island
  • Vermont
  • California
  • Iowa
  • Idaho
  • Minnesota
  • Montana
  • Nevada
  • Oregon
  • Utah
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
Canadian Province or Territory
  • British Columbia
  • New Brunswick
  • Nova Scotia
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Alberta
Other
  • District of Columbia

  • Gilkey`s Weeds of the Pacific Northwest, 1980 (ISBN 0-88246-039-0) See page: 150
  • How to Know the Weeds, 1972, (ISBN# 0-697-04880-2) See page: 87
  • Manual of Ohio Weeds, 1931 Ohio Ag. Exp. Station Bull. # 475, See page: 36
  • Weeds, 1955 (1980) Walter Conrad Muenscher, ISBN# 0-8014-1266-8 See page: 244
  • Weeds of California, 1970, State of California Publications and Documents. See page: 226
  • Weeds of Kentucky and Adjacent States, 1991 (ISBN 0-8131-1743-7) See page: 84
  • Weeds of the Northeast, 1956, Univ. of Delaware Field Manual #1 See species #: 72
  • Listed as a `Weed` by the Biota of North America Program, 2008 X
  • Listed in the WSSA Composite List of Weeds X
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