Draba verna L.
Spring draba, spring whitlow-mustard, spring Whitlow-grass
Spring whitlow-mustard is a Eurasian native, introduced to and well established in North America.
Plants: These inconspicuous plants are easily overlooked. They are 1¾–8″ (5–20 cm) in size.
Leaves: Basal, Simple, sometimes toothed. Each leaf is 1/16–⅝″ (2–18 mm) long, obovate, oblanceolate, or linear. Leaf surfaces have tiny hairs poking up from dimpled spots.
Flowers: Flowerheads have 4-20 flowers. Each flower is white, with four petals each divided nearly in two, on wiry stalks (pedicels) ⅛–¾″ (5–20 mm) long. Petals are 1/16–⅛ ⨉ 1/32–1/16″ (2–4.5 ⨉ 1–2 mm) in size.
Fruits: ⅛–¼ ⨉ 1/32–1/16″ (4–9 ⨉ 1.5–2.5 mm), and flat.
Habitats: Disturbed habitats such as meadows and fields.
Online References:
5/6/2016 · Long Cove Cottages, Tenant’s Harbor, Maine 
4/16/2017 · Whitehead Lighthouse, St. George, Maine · ≈ 11 × 7″ (28 × 18 cm) 
4/16/2017 · Whitehead Lighthouse, St. George, Maine · ≈ 2 × 1¾″ (5.3 × 4.6 cm) 
3/31/2013 · Marshall Point Lighthouse, Port Clyde, Maine · ≈ 2 × 3″ (5.3 × 7.5 cm) 
5/6/2016 · Long Cove Cottages, Tenant’s Harbor, Maine 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Brassicales | Mustard, cabbage, caper, papaya, nasturtiums, many others; most produce mustard oil |
| Family | Brassicaceae | Mustards, cabbages |
| Genus | Draba | From the Greek drabe for “sharp” or “acrid” and referring to the burning taste of the leaves which supposedly had a medicinal value as a poultice |
| Species | verna | Of spring |
Draba verna description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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