Perennial of the Brassicaceae family, this variety of Draba rigida is native to the Caucasus and the mountains of eastern Anatolia, where it settles in rock crevices and high-altitude scree, in full light, on dry and well-drained mineral substrates.
It forms very dense and flattened cushions, with a finely granular appearance, whose small tight rosettes indeed evoke a compact moss, as suggested by the epithet bryoides. The foliage is bright green, the leaves narrow and rigid, ciliated, arranged in rosettes so close together that the cushion appears almost continuous. Compared to the variety imbricata, the habit is generally more spreading and less hemispherical.
The flowering is spectacular and generous: numerous short stems bear corymbs of bright yellow flowers, with four well-opened petals, which literally submerge the cushion and overflow onto the surrounding rocks. In its natural habitat, its flowering extends from May to July depending on the altitude. In cultivation, it blooms in April-May.
It requires perfect drainage, a poor and mineral substrate, and a sunny exposure. Sensitive to excess winter moisture, it is advantageously cultivated in an alpine trough or placed in a rock crevice, conditions that best replicate its natural habitat.