Panarctic Flora

672123 Draba palanderiana Kjellm.

• Kjellm. in Nordensk., VegaExp. Vetensk. Iaktt. 2: 45 (1883). Holotype (UPS (V-120590) 223141!): Alaska: "Arktiska Amerika: Port Clarence" the Seward Peninsula: the Teller area, 24. July 1879, leg. F.R. Kjellman.
• Draba caesia auct., non Adams (1817).

2n= (1) 16 (2x). - Alaska, Canada. - Three reports. Diploid in FCM, Grundt et al. (2005b; central and northern Alaska, northwestern Canada).
(2) 32 (4x). - Far East (East Chukotka, Wrangel Island). - Zhukova (1968); Zhukova and Tikhonova (1971); Zhukova and Petrovsky (1984).
(3) 64 (8x). - Far East (Wrangel Island). - Zhukova and Petrovsky (1972).

Geography: Asian (NE) - amphi-Beringian: SIB? RFE ALA CAN.

Notes: For the name Draba caesia, see D. nivalis.

Grundt and Elven: The plants currently assigned to D. palanderiana fall into two groups:

(a) Plants with large, fragrant (and obviously insect-pollinated), pale yellow to cream flowers on long and very slender pedicels, and a very characteristic and fairly regular half-abortion in the infrutescence described also by Mulligan (1974b). Some fruits abort altogether; in most others only a part of the seeds develop so that the fruits become lopsided. Self-incompatibility is suggested (Grundt et al. 2005a). Plants of this group were investigated by Grundt et al. (2005b) and are diploids. Only diploids are known from the North American side and they also occur frequently in the material from mainland Chukotka on the Asian side with the same general morphology and abortion pattern. The type of D. palanderiana belongs in this group.

(b) The voucher plants of the tetraploid and octoploid chromosome counts from mainland Chukotka and Wrangel Island differ in much stouter and denser infrutescences with thicker pedicels, almost no fruit abortion, almost always full seed development in the fruits, and in a different fruit shape even if shape comparison between half-aborting and fully developing fruits is difficult. Self-compatibility among the polyploids is suggested but the differences in compatibility is not enough to explain the morphological differences. Petrovsky suggested a difference in petal colour but that is not possible to decide from herbarium specimens (the pale yellow colour of the diploids fade into white in the herbarium). The polyploid group is, as far as known, restricted to the Asian side and may well be recognizable as a taxon (species). Polyploids were not available for the molecular investigations of Grundt et al. (2005a, 2005b).