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Physaria alpestris

alpine twin-pod, Washington bladder-pod, Washington twin-pod

thick-leaf bladderpod

Habit Perennials; caudex usually simple, rarely branched, (cespitose); (silvery) pubescent throughout, trichomes several-rayed, rays (1- or) 2-bifurcate, (low-umbonate, tubercles relatively few, small). Perennials; caudex usually simple, rarely branched, (loosely mounded, rosette-like growth); densely (silvery or gray) pubescent, trichomes (sessile), 5-rayed, rays bifurcate, slightly fused near base of main rays, (tuberculate throughout, less over umbo).
Stems

several from base, decumbent to ascending, (unbranched), 0.5–1.5 dm.

several from base, decumbent to prostrate, (well-exserted beyond basal leaves), 0.2–0.5 dm.

Basal leaves

(petiole slender);

blade obovate, 3–5 cm (width 10–20 mm, base tapering abruptly to petiole), margins entire, (apex rarely slightly acute).

(petiole differentiated from blade);

blade (slightly cupped, leathery, nearly 1 mm thick), oblanceolate to orbicular, 1.2–2 cm, margins entire, (apex acute).

Cauline leaves

blade oblanceolate, 0.5–1.5 cm (width 3–5 mm), margins entire.

blade spatulate, similar to basal.

Racemes

subcorymbose.

dense, (subumbellate).

Flowers

sepals oblong, 8–10 mm;

petals spatulate, 12–14 mm.

sepals (pale yellow), elliptic to oblong, 3.5–4.0 mm, (median pair somewhat thickened apically, cucullate);

petals lingulate, 5–6 mm.

Fruiting pedicels

(divaricate, straight), 5–10 mm.

(ascending, curved), 5–7 mm.

Fruits

didymous, mostly highly inflated (strongly flattened at least in 1/2 toward replum), 14–18 × 14–18 mm, (papery, basal sinus slightly notched, apical open, shallow);

valves (retaining seeds after dehiscence), evenly pubescent;

replum lanceolate, 7–10 mm, width 1.5–2.5 mm, as wide as or wider than fruit, apex acute to acuminate;

ovules 8–10 per ovary;

style 5–7 mm.

globose or ellipsoid, slightly inflated (with slight apical constriction), 3–6 mm;

valves pubescent, trichomes closely appressed;

ovules 8 per ovary;

style 1–3 mm (shorter than mature fruit).

Seeds

flattened, (2–3 mm).

plump, (oblong).

2n

= 48–52, 52, 64, 67–70.

Physaria alpestris

Physaria pachyphylla

Phenology Flowering May–Jun. Flowering Jun–Jul.
Habitat Alpine scree, rocky ridges, talus slopes, volcanic sands and gravel, serpentine gravel, granitic slopes, mountain shrub, subalpine fir, and whitebark pine communities Barren areas of mixed white, pink, or reddish limestone and diatomaceous earth
Elevation (700-)1300-2400 m ((2300-)4300-7900 ft) 1300-1600 m (4300-5200 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
MT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Physaria pachyphylla is known from the Pryor Mountain Desert near the Wyoming state line.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 7, p. 624. FNA vol. 7, p. 656.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Physarieae > Physaria Brassicaceae > tribe Physarieae > Physaria
Sibling taxa
P. acutifolia, P. alpina, P. angustifolia, P. arctica, P. arenosa, P. argyraea, P. arizonica, P. aurea, P. bellii, P. brassicoides, P. calcicola, P. calderi, P. carinata, P. chambersii, P. cinerea, P. condensata, P. congesta, P. cordiformis, P. curvipes, P. densiflora, P. didymocarpa, P. dornii, P. douglasii, P. eburniflora, P. engelmannii, P. eriocarpa, P. fendleri, P. filiformis, P. floribunda, P. fremontii, P. garrettii, P. geyeri, P. globosa, P. gooddingii, P. gordonii, P. gracilis, P. grahamii, P. hemiphysaria, P. hitchcockii, P. humilis, P. integrifolia, P. intermedia, P. kingii, P. klausii, P. lata, P. lepidota, P. lesicii, P. lindheimeri, P. ludoviciana, P. macrocarpa, P. mcvaughiana, P. montana, P. multiceps, P. navajoensis, P. nelsonii, P. newberryi, P. obcordata, P. obdeltata, P. occidentalis, P. oregona, P. ovalifolia, P. pachyphylla, P. pallida, P. parviflora, P. parvula, P. pendula, P. pinetorum, P. prostrata, P. pruinosa, P. pulvinata, P. purpurea, P. pycnantha, P. rectipes, P. recurvata, P. reediana, P. rollinsii, P. saximontana, P. scrotiformis, P. sessilis, P. spatulata, P. subumbellata, P. tenella, P. thamnophila, P. tumulosa, P. valida, P. vicina, P. vitulifera
P. acutifolia, P. alpestris, P. alpina, P. angustifolia, P. arctica, P. arenosa, P. argyraea, P. arizonica, P. aurea, P. bellii, P. brassicoides, P. calcicola, P. calderi, P. carinata, P. chambersii, P. cinerea, P. condensata, P. congesta, P. cordiformis, P. curvipes, P. densiflora, P. didymocarpa, P. dornii, P. douglasii, P. eburniflora, P. engelmannii, P. eriocarpa, P. fendleri, P. filiformis, P. floribunda, P. fremontii, P. garrettii, P. geyeri, P. globosa, P. gooddingii, P. gordonii, P. gracilis, P. grahamii, P. hemiphysaria, P. hitchcockii, P. humilis, P. integrifolia, P. intermedia, P. kingii, P. klausii, P. lata, P. lepidota, P. lesicii, P. lindheimeri, P. ludoviciana, P. macrocarpa, P. mcvaughiana, P. montana, P. multiceps, P. navajoensis, P. nelsonii, P. newberryi, P. obcordata, P. obdeltata, P. occidentalis, P. oregona, P. ovalifolia, P. pallida, P. parviflora, P. parvula, P. pendula, P. pinetorum, P. prostrata, P. pruinosa, P. pulvinata, P. purpurea, P. pycnantha, P. rectipes, P. recurvata, P. reediana, P. rollinsii, P. saximontana, P. scrotiformis, P. sessilis, P. spatulata, P. subumbellata, P. tenella, P. thamnophila, P. tumulosa, P. valida, P. vicina, P. vitulifera
Synonyms Lesquerella alpestris
Name authority Suksdorf: W. Amer. Sci. 15: 58. (1906) O’Kane & Grady: Novon 17: 187, fig. 4. (2007)
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