Draba subumbellata
Encyclopedia
Draba subumbellata is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....

 known by several common names, including parasol draba, mound draba, and White Mountains cushion draba. This small perennial plant is native to the White Mountains
White Mountains (California)
The White Mountains of California are a triangular fault block mountain range facing the Sierra Nevada across the upper Owens Valley. They extend for approximately as a greatly elevated plateau about wide on the south, narrowing to a point at the north, with elevations generally increasing...

 which straddle the California-Nevada state line and the Inyo Mountains
Inyo Mountains
The Inyo Mountains are a short mountain range east of the Sierra Nevada mountains in eastern California in the United States. The range separates the Owens Valley to the west with Saline Valley to the east, extending for approximately 70 mi SSE from the southern end of the White Mountains,...

 nearby. It lives on barren rocky scree
Scree
Scree, also called talus, is a term given to an accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, or valley shoulders. Landforms associated with these materials are sometimes called scree slopes or talus piles...

 above 3000 meters.

This alpine-adapted plant forms cushion-like mats amongst the rock litter on mountain peaks. Its tiny leaves are covered in bushy hairs. At flowering small bunches of tiny buds open to reveal bright yellow petals each a few millimeters wide. The fruits are hairy, slightly inflated silique
Silique
A silique or siliqua is a fruit of 2 fused carpels with the length being more than three times the width. The outer walls of the ovary usually separate when ripe, leaving a persistent partition...

s less than a centimeter long.

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