Winner Winner! Draba oligosperma

Fewseed Draba, photo by Dorothy Tuthill, Berry Center

 The award for first flower this spring goes to Draba oligosperma, the fewseed draba, or fewseed whitlowgrass.

 Draba is a large genus of mostly small plants. (These minuscule plants are only about the size of a quarter, and maybe an inch tall.) Most of the approximately 380 species of Draba in the world, 121 in North America, and 26 in Wyoming, are alpine or boreal, where they inhabit some very windy and harsh habitats. Many species have quite small habitat areas, some even restricted to single mountain ranges.

Small plant, lots of character:

Fewseed Draba, photo by Dorothy Tuthill, Berry Center

The name Draba comes from the Greek word “drabe”, which means acrid, as in the taste of mustard. Though the tiny size of most Drabas makes them unlikely targets for the salad, their membership in the mustard family (Brassicaceae) can be recognized from their flower shape (as well as flavor). Members of the mustard family have four petals that make the shape of a cross, hence another name for the group, the “crucifers.” Less appealing is the common name of the genus, whitlowgrass, that comes from their supposed ability to cure whitlows—nasty fingertip infections.

No Courtship Needed!

Are you wondering what pollinates a plant that blooms this early in the season? The answer is: Nothing does! Fewseed draba reproduces asexually. While the flowers have anthers, the anthers do not produce pollen. Instead of going through the usually steps of making gametes (pollen and ova), fewseed draba produces diploid “eggs” that develop into embryos, each genetically identical to the parent plant. 

The name “fewseed” doesn’t come from an inability to make lots of seeds.  Rather, it refers to the small size of the fruits, which contain only a few seeds each. 

Keep your eyes open for these tiny yet charismatic plants – there are lots of them on the Berry Prairie!

Berry Prairie Springs Back!

The Berry Prairie’s first winter turned out to be relatively mild—at least so far. The snow melted off last month, and the “soil” has dried significantly since then. And, with temperatures soaring into the 60’s, and lots of sunshine, the ground has gotten warm enough to stimulate growth. The Prairie still looks mostly brown (and red) from above, but at ground level, there’s a lot to get excited about! 

Fewseed Draba (Draba oliogosperma) is greening up!

Locoweed (Oxytropis nana) is sending up new sprouts

Hooker's Sandwort (Eremogone hookeri) is replacing its brown leaves with green ones!

No doubt we need precipitation—even snow would be welcome—but it sure feels like spring has arrived. Stayed tuned as more species return, and the pasque flowers come into bloom!

Pasque flower (Pulsatilla patens) is always one of the earliest bloomers!

Written by Dorothy Tuthill, Berry Center Associate Director

Seasonal Senescence

"Winter!  Thou art e'er the grand finale,

Bringing death to all the fickle folly,

Of thy fair, but transient sisters.

List their requiem, the wind-wailed whispers.

All browned now and withered lie the leaves,

Gone are the circling swallows from the eaves;

The cheery summer scenes and sounds are past,

Winter reigneth supreme and rides the blast."

-"Winter" from Prairie Poems and Others by F.D. Dibble

Laramie's scene now involves snow and chilly breezes, and the Berry Prairie shows that well.  Now under an inch of snow, the plants are hunkering down for winter.  Following their cues, the Berry Prairie blog writers will take their senescence now too, until the new leaves pop up in spring.

Winter Projects

A couple of prairie-related projects we'll be working on this winter:

1. Weather: You'll see in the photo below that we have installed a weather station on the green roof, which monitors temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speeds, precipitation, dew point, and more.  

That information is routed to a receiver inside the building, which retains all of that data and allows the user (ahem, the people in the Berry Center) to download the information to a computer where we can analyze and share the trends and current conditions.  

2.  Propagation: Karen Panter (you remember her, right?  She's a UW faculty member who propagated a number of the commercially unavailable plants that we installed in the prairie) will be raising a number of seedlings again this winter.  She's focusing on those that didn't grow well last winter/spring, and those that weren't quite ready to be installed this summer. 

The green roof is still open for interested folks to visit, though it's not quite as interesting with most of the plants covered up with snow.  

Have a great winter, see you in the spring!

Written by Brenna Wanous, Berry Center

Biodiversity Scavenger Hunt

If you're in Laramie and are looking for a fun, family activity today and this weekend, check out the Berry Center's UW Biodiversity Scavenger Hunt!  There are nine questions and clues that will lead you all over the main part of campus where you'll discover some surprising and fascinating biodiversity tidbits.  

How to Scavenge: 

To join in, simply download the scavenger hunt clue sheet.

Wander around campus today (you need to visit some of the locales during business hours today - see the clue sheet for more information) and tomorrow to find the answers.

Once you've completed as many questions as you can, submit your answers online.

The Prizes:

The three individuals or groups (you can work in groups of no more than three people) with the most correct answers will win a ticket per person to one of the following locations (winner chooses):

1. Denver Zoo (rawr!)
2. Denver Museum of Nature and Science (best museum ever!)
3. Denver Botanic Gardens (purdy!)

Email bwanous@uwyo.edu or call 307-766-6240 or stop in Berry Center 231 with any questions.

Written by Brenna Wanous, Berry Center