Physaria arizonica
Physaria carinata
Arizona bladderpod
Idaho bladderpod
simple or few to several from base, erect, (unbranched, slender), 0.2–1(–1.5) dm.
simple from base, decumbent, (occasionally few-branched), 0.5–1.5(–2) dm.
(densely tufted, not rosulate, reflexed in age);
blade obovate to oblanceolate, 0.7–2(–3) cm, margins usually entire, sometimes repand or shallowly dentate, (apex acute).
blade elliptic to broadly obovate, triangular, rhombic, or round, 1.5–3(–4) cm, margins often sinuate or shallowly lobed.
similar to basal, becoming narrower distally, somewhat reflexed, (distal) blade linear or narrowly oblanceolate, 0.5–2.5(–5.5) cm.
(sessile or shortly petiolate);
blade elliptic to oblanceolate to obovate, 0.5–1.5 cm, (base narrowed to petiole), margins entire.
dense, often subcorymbiform.
compact to loose.
sepals (green or greenish yellow), ovate or broadly ovate, 3.5–6.5 mm, (lateral pair subsaccate, cucullate, median pair thickened, slightly cucullate apically);
petals (spreading), oblanceolate to obovate, 5.5–8(–10) mm, (claw erect).
sepals oblong to broadly elliptic, 4–7.5 mm, (lateral pair saccate or not);
petals spatulate, 7.5–10 mm.
(erect or divaricate-spreading, straight or slightly curved), (3–)5–10(–15) mm.
(ascending or divaricate-spreading, straight to loosely sigmoid or curved), 4–10 mm.
(sessile or substipitate), suborbicular to ovoid or ellipsoid, slightly inflated, 4–7 mm;
valves pubescent outside, trichomes substipitate, spreading, sometimes sparsely pubescent inside, trichomes sessile, smooth;
ovules 4–10(–16) per ovary;
style (0.5–)1–2(–4) mm (shorter than fruit).
(sessile or substipitate), elliptic, suborbicular, or oblong, strongly compressed (angustiseptate), 5–9 mm, (rounded to sharply keeled on 1 side, edges ± keeled);
valves: (margins covering replum edges or not), usually pubescent throughout or, rarely, glabrous inside;
ovules (4–)8–14(–16) per ovary;
style 2–4.5(–5) mm.
flattened.
slightly flattened.
= 10.
Physaria arizonica
Physaria carinata
The circumscription of Physaria arizonica here is quite broad and includes plants that have densely tufted basal leaves and relatively few or no cauline leaves; plants that are loosely tufted and have several cauline leaves; and plants that have a strongly branched caudex, leafy stems, and sterile shoots (var. andrusensis). Additional study is needed to understand the pattern of variation in this complex species; all of the characters given above vary considerably.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).
Differences in fruit morphology become blurred and the three subspecies are often indistinguishable where their ranges meet near the intersection of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Fruits elliptic, not keeled, valve margins (thin, rounded), not covering replum edges. | subsp. paysonii |
1. Fruits elliptic, suborbicular, or broadly oblong, keeled on one side, valve margins covering replum edges | → 2 |
2. Fruits elliptic, bases narrow-rounded to acute, apices ± acute. | subsp. carinata |
2. Fruits suborbicular to elliptic or broadly oblong, bases and apices rounded. | subsp. pulchella |
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