Draba verna

Weeds of Boise: Awkward Botany Headquarters
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Weeds of Boise: Awkward Botany Headquarters

Last December, Sierra and I left apartment living behind and embarked on a new journey as homeowners, which you can read about in this January’s Year in Review post. This means that Awkward Botany Headquarters now has a yard, and having a yard means we also have weeds.

For many people living in urban areas, the weeds of most concern to them are the ones found in their yards, especially for those that garden or like to keep a tidy yard. Removing weeds is a constant chore. They are always popping up and getting in the way of our plans. In fact, that’s the very definition of a weed – an uninvited plant growing in a location where it isn’t wanted. Despite our best efforts, our yards are always going to have some amount of weeds in them, so what better place to familiarize yourself with your wild urban flora than in your own yard? Or, in this case, our yard.

Our house is located in an area of Boise called the Bench. The Boise Bench, which is actually a series of benches or terraces, is located south of the Boise River and overlooks downtown Boise. The formation of the benches began 2 million years ago as the Boise River cut through the valley. Over time, sediments were deposited at the south bank of the river as it cut further and further northward, leaving behind the series of large terraces. Early in Boise’s history, the Bench was largely agricultural land thanks to the construction of canals. As the city grew, housing and commercial developments expanded across the Bench and have now displaced most of the farmland. Urbanization of the Boise Bench continues today at a steady clip.

While I haven’t had a chance to explore every square inch of the yard, and the growing season is just getting started, what follows are a few photos and a short list of some of the weeds I’ve encountered so far.

white top (Lepidium sp.)
  • prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola)
    • dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
    common mallow (Malva neglecta)
    redstem filaree (Erodium cicutarium)
    burdock (Arctium minus)
    quackgrass (Elymus repens)
    spring draba (Draba verna)
    bulbous bluegrass (Poa bulbosa)
    • Arctium minus (burdock)
    • Bromus hordeaceus (soft brome)
    • Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass)
    • Capsella bursa-pastoris (shepherd’s purse)
    • Cichorium intybus (chicory)
    • Cirsium arvense (creeping thistle)
    • Chondrilla juncea (rush skeletonweed)
    • Dactylis glomerata (orchardgrass)
    • Digitaria sanguinalis (crabgrass)
    • Draba verna (spring draba)
    • Echinochloa crus-galli (barnyard grass)
    • Elymus repens (quackgras)
    • Epilobium sp. (willowherb)
    • Erodium cicutarium (redstem filaree)
    • Euphorbia maculata (spotted spurge)
    • Galium aparine (cleavers)
    • Hordeum murinum (wild barley)
    • Lactuca serriola (prickly lettuce)
    • Lepidium sp. (white top)
    • Malva neglecta (common mallow)
    • Matricaria discoidea (pineappleweed)
    • Poa bulbosa (bulbous bluegrass)
    • Polygonum sp. (knotweed)
    • Portulaca oleracea (purslane)
    • Prunella vulgaris (self-heal)
    • Sonchus sp. (sowthistle)
    • Taraxacum officinale (dandelion)
    • Tragopogon dubius (salsify)
    • Ulmus pumila (Siberian elm)
    • Verbena bracteata (bigbract verbena)
    • Veronica sp. (speedwell)

    Like all posts in the Weeds of Boise series, this will be updated as I identify and photograph more of the weeds found in this location. Do you have a yard in an urban area? What weeds are you seeing in your yard this year? Let us know in the comment section below.

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    Tiny Plants: Draba verna

    Draba verna is a small but memorable plant. Common names for it include early whitlowgrass, vernal whitlowgrass, and spring whitlow-mustard. Sometimes it is simply referred to as spring draba. As these common names suggest, Draba verna flowers early in the spring. It is an annual plant that begins its life by germinating the previous fall. While its flowers are minuscule, multiple plants can be found packed into a single section of open ground, making their presence more obvious. This and the fact that it flowers so early, are what make it so memorable. After a cold, grey winter, our eyes are anxious for flowers, and even tiny ones can be enough.

    Draba verna

    Draba verna is in the mustard family (Brassicaceae), which is easy to determine by observing its flowers and fruits. The flowers are about 1/8 inch across, with four, deeply-lobed petals. The fruits are oblong, “football-shaped,” flattened capsules that are divided into two chambers and hold up to forty seeds or more. Flowers and fruits are borne at the tips of branched stems that are leafless, hairless, and very thin. Stems arise from a small rosette of narrow leaves that are green to purplish-red and slightly hairy. The plant itself is generally only an inch or two wide and a few inches tall, easily missed other than its aforementioned tendency to be found en masse.

    flowers of Draba verna via eol.org

    Draba verna occurs throughout much of eastern and western North America, but is said to be introduced from Eurasia. A few sources claim that it is native to North America, but as far as I can tell, that is unverified. Either way, it is naturalized across much of its present range, and even though many of us consider it a weed, it doesn’t seem to be causing too much concern. It’s too tiny and short-lived to really be a problem. It makes its home in disturbed and neglected sites – along roadsides; in fields, pastures, and garden beds; and in abandoned lots. The one place it may be trouble is in nurseries and greenhouses, where it might be able to compete with young plants in pots.

    open capsule and seeds of Draba verna via eol.org

    The flowers of Draba verna are self-fertile, but they are also visited by bees that have ventured out in early spring. The foliage might by browsed by rabbits and other small mammals, but otherwise this plant is of little use to other creatures. Being in the mustard family, it is likely edible, but again it is so small that harvesting it would hardly be worth it. Instead, maybe its best to leave it in place and enjoy it for what it is: a tiny, brave reminder that spring is on its way and an encouragement to get down low once in a while to admire the little things.

    An attempt at sketching Draba verna fruits on a raceme.

    See Also: Tiny Plants: Duckweeds