Physaria chambersii |
Physaria alpestris |
|
---|---|---|
Chambers' bladder-pod, Chambers' physaria, Chambers' twinpod, double bladderpod |
alpine twin-pod, Washington bladder-pod, Washington twin-pod |
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Habit | Perennials; caudex usually simple, sometimes branched, (thick, cespitose); (silvery) pubescent throughout, trichomes few-rayed, rays furcate, sometimes slightly fused at base, (umbonate, lightly tuberculate to nearly smooth). | Perennials; caudex usually simple, rarely branched, (cespitose); (silvery) pubescent throughout, trichomes several-rayed, rays (1- or) 2-bifurcate, (low-umbonate, tubercles relatively few, small). |
Stems | several from base, erect or decumbent (arising laterally, unbranched), 0.5–1.5 mm. |
several from base, decumbent to ascending, (unbranched), 0.5–1.5 dm. |
Basal leaves | (petiole slender); blade obovate to orbicular, 3–6 cm (width 10–20 mm), margins entire or dentate. |
(petiole slender); blade obovate, 3–5 cm (width 10–20 mm, base tapering abruptly to petiole), margins entire, (apex rarely slightly acute). |
Cauline leaves | blade spatulate, 1–2 cm (width 3–6 mm), margins entire, (apex often acute). |
blade oblanceolate, 0.5–1.5 cm (width 3–5 mm), margins entire. |
Racemes | congested. |
subcorymbose. |
Flowers | sepals narrowly lanceolate, 5–8(–9) mm; petals narrowly oblanceolate, 9–12 mm, (claw undifferentiated from blade). |
sepals oblong, 8–10 mm; petals spatulate, 12–14 mm. |
Fruiting pedicels | (divaricate, slightly sigmoid), 8–15 mm. |
(divaricate, straight), 5–10 mm. |
Fruits | (often purplish in age), didymous, subreniform, strongly inflated, 9–18 × 11–21(–30) mm, (papery, base obtuse to slightly cordate, apical sinus V-shaped or convex, open crests rounded); valves (2-keeled on side away from replum, each 3-sided, keels rounded, sides flat or slightly convex, retaining seeds after dehiscence), evenly and densely pubescent; replum oblong, as wide as or wider than fruits, apex obtuse; ovules 4–12 per ovary; style (4–)6–8 mm (exceeding sinus). |
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. |
Seeds | flattened. |
flattened, (2–3 mm). |
2n | = 8, 10, 16, 24. |
= 48–52, 52, 64, 67–70. |
Physaria chambersii |
Physaria alpestris |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–Jul. | Flowering May–Jun. |
Habitat | Clay hillsides, limestone gravel, dolomite ridges, roadbanks, loose gravel, reddish clay, sagebrush and pinyon-juniper areas | Alpine scree, rocky ridges, talus slopes, volcanic sands and gravel, serpentine gravel, granitic slopes, mountain shrub, subalpine fir, and whitebark pine communities |
Elevation | 1500-3200 m (4900-10500 ft) | (700-)1300-2400 m ((2300-)4300-7900 ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; ID; NV; OR; UT
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WA
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Discussion | Physaria chambersii has been divided into three varieties based on whether the fruit is stipitate (var. canaani) or not, and whether the caudex elongates (var. sobolifera) or not (var. chambersii). In this species and in some others, e.g., P. newberryi, the latter character often depends on substrate and microclimate. Shifting substrates, such as moving sand and talus, often cause caudices to elongate. The species can be confused with 57. P. newberryi. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
|
Source | FNA vol. 7, p. 631. | FNA vol. 7, p. 624. |
Parent taxa | Brassicaceae > tribe Physarieae > Physaria | Brassicaceae > tribe Physarieae > Physaria |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. chambersii var. canaani, P. chambersii var. sobolifera | Lesquerella alpestris |
Name authority | Rollins: Rhodora 41: 403, plate 556, figs. 15–18. (1939) | Suksdorf: W. Amer. Sci. 15: 58. (1906) |
Web links |