Common Whitlowgrass
Draba verna
Though it has only four petals, each is so deeply split down the middle that it looks like it has eight.
- Scientific name
- Draba verna
- Taxonomy
- Plantae › Tracheophyta › Magnoliopsida › Brassicales › Brassicaceae › Draba
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Dry, sandy or gravelly soils, open grasslands, rocky slopes, roadsides, and disturbed urban ground.
- Diet
- Photosynthetic (requires sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and soil nutrients).
- Range
- Europe, North Asia, North Africa, North America
- Size
- 2 to 15 cm in height
- Lifespan
- 1 year (winter annual)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Urban sprawl, heavy herbicide application in lawns, and aggressive invasive turf grasses.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. You can safely observe or walk near this tiny wildflower. It is entirely non-toxic and lacks thorns. No special precautions are needed; simply enjoy its early spring blooms.
Draba verna (syn. Erophila verna ) may also go by the names spring draba , shadflower , nailwort , common whitlowgrass , vernal whitlow grass , early witlow grass or whitlow-grass . It is a small plant found in sagebrush country in the inland western United States, North Africa, temperate Asia, and most of Europe, including Britain. It was once thought to have been introduced to America from Europe, but is now considered native to both continents. It grows in very early spring....
Photo: crgillette, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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