Physaria hitchcockii subsp. hitchcockii
Physaria hitchcockii
Hitchcock's bladderpod
few to several from base, prostrate to erect or spreading, 0.05–0.5(–1.2) dm.
petiole differentiated from blade (sometimes weakly);
blade oblanceolate to obovate.
(petiole and blade differentiated or not);
blade spatulate to elliptic or linear or narrowly oblanceolate, 0.5–1.5(–2.5) cm, margins entire.
similar to basal, smaller.
dense.
sepals narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, 2.8–6 mm;
petals (pale to deep yellow), narrowly lanceolate to oblanceolate, 5–9 mm, (claw undifferentiated from blade).
(ascending, straight or slightly curved), 2–6 mm.
2.6–3.8 mm wide.
(sessile or substipitate), globose or subglobose to obovoid, not or slightly inflated, 3–6 mm, (firm, apex acute);
valves (reddish in age, not retaining seeds after dehiscence), glabrous throughout;
replum as wide as or wider than fruit;
ovules 4–8 per ovary;
style 1.7–6 mm.
flattened.
1.4–1.8(–2) mm.
Physaria hitchcockii subsp. hitchcockii
Physaria hitchcockii
It is possible that populations of subsp. hitchcockii on the Table Cliff Plateau, Utah, are consubspecific with the nearby subsp. rubicundula. The leaf blades are indistinguishable from the material from Nevada and the plants do not form elongated, elastic caudices.
Subspecies hitchcockii is found in the Sheep Range and Spring Mountains (Charleston Mountain), Nevada, and on the Table Cliff Plateau, Utah, where it is limited to the white member of the limestone Wasatch (Claron) Formation.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).
The taxonomic treatment of Physaria hitchcockii has varied widely over the years. Molecular study (pers. obs.) has shown no direct relationship to P. tumulosa; morphologically, though, P. navajoensis and P. tumulosa appear closely related. Infraspecific taxonomy is based on the presence of a discernable petiole and whether or not the caudex is elastically elongated. The subspecies recognized here are usually geographically coherent, except that collections from the Table Cliff Plateau are more similar to subsp. hitchcockii, disjunct in Nevada, than they are to the very nearly sympatric subsp. rubicundula.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Caudices elongated and elastic; basal leaves: petiole not differentiated from blade, blades linear-oblanceolate; Aquarius, Markagunt, and Paunsaugunt plateaus, Utah (limited to the pink member of the limestone Wasatch (Claron) Formation). | subsp. rubicundula |
1. Caudices elongated or not, elastic or not; basal leaves: petiole differentiated (sometimes weakly) from blade, blades oblanceolate to obovate; Nevada, Utah | → 2 |
2. Plants forming tufts; caudices not elongated, not elastic; fruits 2.6-3.8 mm wide; Table Cliff Plateau, Utah (limited to the white member of the limestone Wasatch (Claron) Formation) and limestones of the Sheep Range and Spring Mountains, Nevada. | subsp. hitchcockii |
2. Plants forming soft mats; caudices elongated, elastic (creeping); fruits 1.7-3 mm wide; Grant, Quinn Canyon, and Schell Creek ranges, Nevada. | subsp. confluens |
CalFlora
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
