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Bell's or Front Range twinpod, Bell's twinpod, Front Range twinpod

intermountain bladderpod, skyline bladderpod

Habit Perennials; caudex simple, (relatively large); densely (silvery) pubescent, trichomes (sessile, appressed), rays furcate, fused at base. Perennials; caudex simple or branched (tightly); sparsely to densely pubescent, trichomes (sessile or short-stalked), 4–6-rayed, rays furcate or bifurcate, distinct or slightly fused at base, (sometimes umbonate, tuberculate throughout).
Stems

simple from base, decumbent to nearly prostrate, 0.5–1.3 dm.

few to several from base, decumbent, 0.5–1(–2) dm, (rather stout, sparsely pubescent).

Basal leaves

(strongly rosulate; shortly petiolate);

blade broadly obovate, 1.5–7.5 (width 7.5–26 mm, base gradually tapering to petiole), margins shallowly dentate, (apex obtuse).

blade elliptic to suborbicular, 1.5–3.5(–5.5) cm, margins entire or shallowly dentate (at base, surfaces densely pubescent, silvery).

Cauline leaves

blade oblanceolate to broadly obovate, 1–2.5 cm, margins entire.

(petiolate or distal nearly sessile);

blade elliptic to obovate, 0.5–1.5 cm, margins entire.

Racemes

dense.

dense, congested, (few-flowered).

Flowers

sepals (pale yellow or yellow-green), narrowly lanceolate to narrowly deltate, 4–8 mm;

petals yellow, broadly spatulate to obovate, 9–13 mm, (not clawed).

sepals lanceolate, oblanceolate, or narrowly elliptic, 3.8–5 mm, (median pair thickened apically, cucullate);

petals narrowly lanceolate to linear, 6–10(–13) mm.

Fruiting pedicels

(divaricate-ascending to widely spreading, slightly sigmoid to curved), 7–12 mm.

(spreading or recurved, sometimes loosely sigmoid), 2–6.5 mm.

Fruits

didymous, slightly flattened (contrary to replum) to uncompressed, 4–9 × 2–8 mm, (strongly coriaceous, apical and basal sinuses narrow, deep);

valves (retaining seeds after dehiscence), pubescent, trichomes appressed;

replum narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly linear-oblong, as wide as or wider than fruit, apex obtuse;

ovules 4 per ovary;

style more than 3 mm.

(sessile or substipitate), broadly obcordate, obdeltate, or obcompressed, slightly compressed (angustiseptate), 3–5(–7) mm;

valves (not retaining seeds after dehiscence), sparsely pubescent or glabrous, trichomes appressed;

replum as wide as or wider than fruit;

ovules 8–16 per ovary;

style (1.8–)3–6(–7) mm.

Seeds

compressed.

slightly flattened, (ellipsoid to suborbicular).

2n

= 8.

Physaria bellii

Physaria hemiphysaria

Phenology Flowering Mar–Jun(-Jul).
Habitat Dark shale, road cuts, ridge crests, washes
Elevation 1500-1800 m (4900-5900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CO
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
UT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Of conservation concern.

Physaria bellii is often found in shale and limestone soils of the Fountain/Ingleside, Lykins, Niobrara, and Pierre formations. It is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants.

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

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

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

Key
1. Styles 3-5 mm; fruiting pedicels 4-6.5 mm; fruit valves pubescent, often sparsely so.
subsp. hemiphysaria
1. Styles 1.8-2.5(-3) mm; fruiting pedicels 2-4(-5.5) mm; fruit valves glabrous or sparsely pubescent.
subsp. lucens
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 628. FNA vol. 7, p. 642.
Parent taxa Brassicaceae > tribe Physarieae > Physaria Brassicaceae > tribe Physarieae > Physaria
Sibling taxa
P. acutifolia, P. alpestris, P. alpina, P. angustifolia, P. arctica, P. arenosa, P. argyraea, P. arizonica, P. aurea, 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. 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
Subordinate taxa
P. hemiphysaria subsp. hemiphysaria, P. hemiphysaria subsp. lucens
Synonyms Lesquerella hemiphysaria
Name authority G. A. Mulligan: Canad. J. Bot. 44: 1662, fig. 1, plate 1, fig. 3. (1966) (Maguire) O’Kane & Al-Shehbaz: Novon 12: 323. (2002)
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