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CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Draba maguirei var. burkei

Family:	Brassicaceae
Common Name:	Burke�s draba
Author:	(C.L. Hitchc.) Windham & Beilstein
Growth Habit:	Perennial
CPC Number:	1469

Distribution
Protection
Conservation
References

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Draba maguirei var. burkei is Not Sponsored

Primary custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered Plants is:

Denver Botanic Gardens

Tom Grant and Michelle DePrenger-Levin contributed to this Plant Profile.

Draba maguirei var. burkei

Burke�s draba (Draba burkei) is a small leafed, small flowered perennial that lives high in the Uinta Mountains in northeastern Utah. Burke�s draba was only recently described as a separate species from Draba maguirei var. burkei (Windham 1998). Changing this taxon to a full species from a variety has great conservation implications. While Burke�s draba was known as a variety of Draba maguirei it was considered a rare species. As a species in itself, it is an extremely rare plant.

There is a distance of 11.5 km between the closest known populations of Draba maguirei and Draba burkei. Along with the differences morphologically and genetically there is enough evidence to classify this plant as a separate species. It shares certain characteristics with other related Draba species like yellow flowers borne on leafless stems and oblong, toothed leaves in basal rosettes. However, Burke�s draba does not hybridize with Draba maguirei and they rarely share the same substrate preferences. Burke�s draba is also closely allied with Draba globosa. Nonetheless, there is a cutoff at an elevation of 3000 meters where Burke�s draba ends and Draba globosa begins (Windham 1998).

Utah hosted the 2002 winter Olympics in the Uinta Mountain range. One Draba burkei population was found directly in the path of the proposed ski run for the Men�s downhill event. To create a safe run, the construction cut into a portion of this, the largest, population of Burke�s draba (Johnson 2001). These plants were removed and sent to Denver Botanic Gardens where they can now be viewed and studied by the public. Three plants are growing in the naturalistic gardens of Denver Botanic Gardens and one plant is being kept in the greenhouse.

Distribution & Occurrence

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State Range

Utah

Habitat

In the southern end of its range, Draba burkei is found growing on a substrate of quartzite while plants in the northern and central portions are found on limestone or calcareous shale outcrops. This is in contrast to the dolomite preference of its allied taxa, Draba maguirei. Draba burkei is often found in the crevices of rock outcrops on cooler north or northwest slopes (NY Botanical Garden). This taxa is found among various combinations of Acer, Pseudotsuga, Pinus, Abies, Juniperus, Cercocarpus, Poa, Agrostis and Carex.

Distribution

Draba burkei is endemic to Utah with occurrences known only in Box Elder, Cache and Weber counties. (NatureServe 2003) It occurs in four areas of the Wellsville and Wasatch Mountains along the Cache Valley and to the southwest (Windham 1998).

Number Left

Draba burkei occurs in four areas along the Cache Valley and to the southwest: the Wellsville Mountains, Willard Peak and Mt. Ben Lomond, Mt. Ogden and an isolated population on James Peak (Windham 1998).

Protection

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Global Rank:	G3T2	6/25/1998	Guide to Global Ranks
Federal Status:	NA		Guide to Federal Status
Recovery Plan:	No

State/Area Protection

	State/Area	Rank	Status	Date

Conservation, Ecology & Research

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Ecological Relationships

Draba burkei is associated with quartzite soils in its southern range and limestone or calcareous shale outcrops in its northern and central range (Windham 1998). Draba maguirei, of which Burke�s draba has been considered a variety, grows within Douglas fir and mixed conifer communities at an elevation of 1830 to 2930 meters (Welsh et al. 1987). Burke�s draba is found in association with Acer, Psudotsuga, Pinus, Abies, Juniperus, Cercocarpus, Poa, Agrostis and Carex (Windham 1998).

Threats

� Habitat destruction due to ski resort development

Current Research Summary

� Taxonomic study of Draba maguirei and allied taxa by Dr. Michael D. Windham and Mark Beilstein (Windham 1998).
� Seed germination experiments completed by Denver Botanic Gardens in 2001.
� Population monitoring studies (Johnson 2001)

Current Management Summary

Seed has been stored in the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Colorado. The goal of the NCGRP is to preserve a collection of genetic resources to secure the biological diversity of these rare species in case of an unfortunate, catastrophic event. Since this species is so newly separated into a good species, no management plan has been developed.

Research Management Needs

More information is needed to know how to best protect Draba burkei and determine its possible listing as an endangered or threatened species under the ESA.
Pollination studies are needed.

Monitoring Efforts

Not Available

Ex Situ Needs

Vegetative propagation of Draba burkei stored at Denver Botanic Gardens is currently being attempted

References

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Books (Single Authors)

Isely, D. 1990. Vascular flora of the southeastern United States. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. 258p.

Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the U.S., Canada, and Greenland. in Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. Chapel Hill, NC: North Carolina Botanical Garden.

Books (Sections)

Baskin, J.M.; Baskin, C.C. 1973. The Past and Present Geographical Distribution of Petalostemon foliosus and notes on its ecology. Rhodora. p 75: 132-140.

Gleason, H.A.; Cronquist, A. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. In: Gleason, H. A., and A. Cronquist, editor. The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx.

Pyne, M.; Gay, M.; Shea, A. 1995. Guide to rare plants. Tennessee Division of Forestry District 5. Tennessee Department of Agriculture, Division of Forestry. Nashville, TN.

Schwegman, J.E. 1991. The vascular flora of Langham Island, Kankakee County, Illinois. Erigenia. p 11: 1-8.

Electronic Sources

Alabama Forestry Commission. (2002). Alabama's TREASURED FORESTS magazine. http://www.forestry.state.al.us/publication/TF_publications/2002_treasured_forest_mag.htm.

Glass, B.; Schwegman, J.E.; DeMauro, M.M. (1992). Plant species biology summary for Leafy Prairie Clover. Department of Natural Resources, Division of Natural Heritage. http://dnr.state.il.us/conservation/naturalheritage/botany/htmldale.htm.

New York Botanical Garden. (2002). The Virtual Herbarium. New York Botanical Garden. http://scisun.nybg.org:8890/searchdb/owa/wwwspecimen.searchform.

USFWS. (1990). Endangered and Threatened Species Accounts. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Endangered Species. http://ecos.fws.gov/servlet/TESSSpeciesQuery.

Journal Articles

Baskin, J.M.; Baskin, C.C. 1998. Greenhouse and laboratory studies on the ecological life cycle of Dalea foliosa (Fabaceae), a federal endangered species. Natural Areas Journal. 18, 1: 54-62.

USFWS. 1991. Dalea foliosa (leafy prairie-clover) determined to be endangered. Federal Register. 56, 84: 19953 - 19959.

Reports

Bowles, M.L.; Bell, T. 1999. Recovery strategies and delisting criteria for Platanthera leucophaea, Asclepias meadii, Lespedeza leptostachya, Dalea foliosa, and Cirsium pitcheri. Springfield, IL: Report to the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board.

Bowles, M.L.; Jones, M.D. 1992. Results of a survey to relocate historic Illinois populations of the leafy prairie clover. Springfield, IL: Unpublished report to the Illinois Department of Conservation.

USFWS. 1996. Recovery plan for Dalea foliosa (leafy prairie clover) (Gray) Barneby. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Southeast Region. p.60.

Theses

Wiltshire, B. 1994. Assessment of genetic diversity in Astragaleus tennesseensis and the federally endangered Dalea foliosa (Fabaceae). [M.S. Thesis]: Southern Illinois University. Carbondale, Illinois.

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This profile was updated on 3/4/2010