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Round-fruited Draba - Draba globosa
Other Names:
Draba apiculata
State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
DRAFT: Requesting feedback on the 2026 revised rank, factors, and State Rank Reason outlined below and in the Conservation Status Rank Report.
Draba globosa is known in Montana from 3-4 mountain ranges and approximately a half dozen sites, where the species is at the northern edge of its range. Population sizes are unknown as are trends. However, populations are likely relatively stable or have experienced only minor declines as the species' alpine habitat is remote and largely intact. Threats to the species are generally unknown, though shifts in climate may negatively impact the species, and it is rated as "Extremely Vulnerable" to climate change as part of an analysis using the CCVI.
Surveys are needed to document population sizes and extent of the known occurrences. Monitoring of a subset of populations is needed to be able to determine potential population trends.
General Description
Round-fruited Draba is a small, stemless, herbaceous perennial, which forms cushions that are up to 20 cm wide and which consist of basal leaf rosettes that arise from a branched rootcrown. The lance-shaped to narrowly spoon-shaped leaves are 3-6 mm long and have a few stiff marginal hairs but are otherwise glabrous. 2-10 small yellow or sometimes white flowers are borne on top of a stalk that reaches up to 45 mm high. Each flower has 4 separate petals that are ca. 4 mm long, 4 separate sepals, and 4 long and 2 short stamens. The glabrous, compressed egg-shaped capsule, or silicle, is 3-8 mm long with a style projecting 0.2-0.7 mm from the tip.
Phenology
Flowering and fruiting occur in July.
Diagnostic Characteristics
Draba is a genus of many similar-appearing species. In Montana, Draba globosa, D. densifoliaand D. daviesiae are the only species with yellow flowers and leaves that are glabrous above but with ciliate margins. Draba densifolia has pubescent fruits, while those of D. globosa and D. daviesiae are glabrous. Of the latter two, D. globosa has pointed leaves with 2-5 flowers, while D. daviesiae has rounded leaves and 5-10 flowers.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Regional endemic of southwestern Montana, central Colorado, northern Utah and western and southern Wyoming.
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 10
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)
Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
In Montana round-fruited draba has been found in the Madison and Centennial ranges, where it grows in moist, sparsely vegetated, often calcareous soil of moraine and fellfields, near or above treeline from 9,500 to 10,500 feet in elevation. Associates include Silene acaulis, Ranunculus eschscholtzii, Phlox pulvinata and Sibaldia procumbens.
National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species
Alpine
Alpine - Sparse and Barren
Alpine - Vegetated
Wetland and Riparian
Alpine Riparian and Wetland
Management
Draba globosa is found in inaccessible high-elevation sites, often in wilderness areas. There are no obvious threats to this species.
Stewardship Responsibility
Threats or Limiting Factors
STATE THREAT SCORE REASON
Threat impact not assigned because threats are not known (MTNHP Threat Assessment 2021).
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
MTNHP Threat Assessment. 2021. State Threat Score Assignment and Assessment of Reported Threats from 2006 to 2021 for State-listed Vascular Plants. Botany Program, Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, Montana.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Aho, Ken Andrew. 2006. Alpine and Cliff Ecosystems in the North-Central Rocky Mountains. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 343 p.
- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
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