There are over 190 vascular plant species on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard. This figure does not include algae, mosses, and lichens, which are non-vascular plants. For an island so far north, this number of species constitutes an astonishing variety of plant life. Because of the harsh climate and the short growing season, all the plants are slow growing. They seldom grow higher than 10 cm (4 in)
Draba is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, commonly known as whitlow-grasses.
Draba aizoides is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, known as yellow whitlow-grass. It is native to Europe where it is found on limestone rocks and walls. In the British Isles it is found only on the Gower Peninsula in Wales.
Lepidium draba, also known as whitetop, hoary cress, or Thanet cress, is a rhizomatous perennial flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. It is native to western Asia and southeastern Europe and has been widely introduced elsewhere.
Draba verna, common whitlowgrass, is a species of plant in the cabbage family. It is a small spring-flowering annual which is widely dispersed around the world, and which is found on walls, pavements and patches of bare ground. It has a complex taxonomy which is not yet fully elucidated.
Draba aureola is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known as the Mt. Lassen draba or Mt. Lassen whitlow-grass. This plant is native to the Cascade Range of western North America, where it grows at elevations above 2000 meters. This is usually a perennial plant found growing in rocky areas such as volcanic cliffs and scree. It has one or more short, stout stems which are covered in stiff hairs. The leaves grow in a dense basal clump at the ground. They are fat and fleshy and covered in a carpetlike coat of stiff, light-colored, branching hairs. The stem may be erect above the clump of leaves or its inflorescence may rest directly upon them. The spherical or club-shaped inflorescence may have up to 80 small, yellow flowers packed densely in it, each petal about 5 millimeters wide. The fruit is a wavy-edged, hairy silique about a centimeter long and half a centimeter wide.
Draba cruciata is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known as the Mineral King draba. This is an uncommon plant endemic to California, where it is known only from the Sierra Nevada in Tulare County. It was named for Mineral King, a historic valley in the area. This plant is a squat, mat-forming perennial adapted to high mountain climates. It has small paddle-shaped leaves covered in a thick coat of hairs. It bears an inflorescence of 5 to 20 yellow flowers, each flower about a centimeter across. The stem bears widely spaced fruits, which are siliques about a centimeter long each.
Draba asterophora is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names Lake Tahoe draba or Tahoe whitlow-grass. This rare plant is known only from the Mount Rose and Slide Mountain areas of the northern Carson Range in extreme western Nevada, in and just outside of the Lake Tahoe drainage basin. It is a squat perennial herb which forms small mats in rocky habitat in the alpine climate of the high mountains. It forms a basal patch of thick, hairy oval leaves up to 1.5 centimeters long. A small, erect inflorescence arises from the patch bearing several yellow mustard-like flowers. The fruit is a flat, wavy silique which is oval in shape, somewhat membranous, and up to 1.5 centimeters long. It contains several flat, round seeds with wide wings along the edges.
Draba breweri is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names cushion draba, lanceleaf draba, Brewer's draba, and Brewer's whitlow grass. With Draba cana now considered a variety of this species, it is distributed throughout parts of northern and western North America, including much of Canada and the western United States. The less widespread var. breweri is limited to mountainous California and western Nevada.
Draba carnosula is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name Mt. Eddy draba. It is endemic to the Klamath Mountains of far northern California, where it is known from fewer than twenty occurrences at Mount Eddy and other peaks in the range. This is a perennial herb forming small clumps in serpentine outcrops. The leaves are located at the base of the plant, each an oval shape under a centimeter long. They are mostly hairless, except for long hairs along the edges. The erect inflorescence bears fewer than 10 yellow mustardlike flowers. The fruit is a lance-shaped silique one or two centimeters long, containing several winged seeds.
Draba corrugata is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name Southern California draba.
Draba howellii is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names rosette draba and Howell's draba. It is endemic to the Klamath Mountains of northern California and southern Oregon, where it grows in rock crevices. This is a tuft-forming perennial herb, sometimes coated in hairs. Most of the leaves are located at the base of the plant, each oval in shape, up to 2.5 centimeters long, and sometimes edged in fine teeth. There may be one or more leaves on the stem as well. The erect inflorescence bears up to 30 yellow mustardlike flowers. The fruit is an oval silique up to a centimeter long containing several seeds.
Draba incrassata is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name Sweetwater Mountains draba.
Draba monoensis is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names White Mountains draba and Mono draba.
Draba sharsmithii is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names Mt. Whitney draba and Sharsmith's draba.
Draba sierrae is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name Sierra draba. It is endemic to the central Sierra Nevada of California, where it is known from just a few occurrences in rocky alpine habitat. It is a perennial herb forming small, dense cushions of very hairy, oblong or lance-shaped grayish leaves each under centimeter long. The erect inflorescence bears several yellow flowers. The fruit is a flat, twisted, oval-shaped silique under a centimeter long containing a few unwinged seeds.
Draba ramulosa is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names Mt. Belknap draba and Tushar Mountain draba. It is endemic to Utah, where it is known only from Mt. Belknap in the Tushar Mountains in Beaver and Piute Counties.
Primula capillaris is a rare species of flowering plant in the primrose family known by the common name Ruby Mountains primrose, or Ruby Mountain primrose. It is endemic to Nevada in the United States, where it is limited to the Ruby Mountains of Elko County.
Draba exunguiculata is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names clawless draba and Grays Peak draba. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States.
Draba graminea is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names Rocky Mountain draba and San Juan Whitlow-grass. It is endemic to the state of Colorado in the United States, where it is limited to the San Juan Mountains.
