The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

gaslight bladderpod

Kane County twinpod

Habit Annuals or, sometimes, bi-ennials; with a fine taproot; sparsely pubescent, trichomes (sessile), 3–6-rayed, rays furcate, (tuberculate throughout). Perennials; caudex simple, (with deep roots, thickened); densely (silvery) pubescent throughout (densely covering leaves with several appressed layers), less dense on stems, trichomes (stellate-scalelike), rays fused (webbed) in proximal 1/2 or to tips, (umbonate, nearly smooth to moderately tuberculate).
Stems

several from base, erect or decumbent and straggling, (branched distally, branches usually filiform), to 5 dm.

simple from base, erect or outer ones slightly decumbent toward base, (from below or in basal leaves, unbranched), (0.5–)0.8–1.6(–2) dm.

Basal leaves

blade obovate or rhombic to broadly elliptic, 1–4.5(–6.5) cm, margins entire or lyrate-pinnatifid.

(erect, petiole long, slender);

blade spatulate to broadly oblanceolate, (3–)5–7(–12) cm, (base gradually tapering to petiole), margins entire, (apex rounded or obtuse).

Cauline leaves

(proximal petiolate, distal sessile);

blade rhombic or obovate to elliptic, 0.5–2(–3) cm, margins entire or sinuate to remotely toothed.

blade oblanceolate, similar to basal, (base cuneate), margins entire.

Racemes

loose.

dense.

Flowers

sepals elliptic or ovate, 2.5–5.5 mm, (median pair thickened apically, cucullate);

petals (yellow to orange-yellow), obovate to cuneate, 4–7 mm, (apex sometimes retuse).

sepals (erect), linear to linear-oblong, somewhat boat-shaped, 7–10 mm;

petals (erect at anthesis), lingulate, 11–15 mm, (claw undifferentiated from blade).

Fruiting pedicels

(recurved in age), 5–10(–15) mm, (slender).

(divaricate-ascending, straight or slightly curved), 10–15 mm.

Fruits

globose or subglobose, not or slightly inflated, (2–)3–5(–7) mm;

valves (not retaining seeds after dehiscence), glabrous throughout;

replum as wide as or wider than fruit;

ovules (4–)8–16(–20) per ovary;

style (1–5–)2–4.5 mm.

(purplish in age), strongly didymous, semiorbicular, highly inflated, 10–18 × 14–19 mm, (papery), basal sinus usually shallow, rarely absent, apical sinus deep, narrowly V-shaped;

valves retaining seeds after dehiscence, sides flat, back rounded, margins keeled, base and apex obtuse;

replum narrowly oblong to linear, as wide as or wider than fruit, base slightly narrowed, apex obtusely rounded;

ovules 4 per ovary;

style 3–5 mm, (slender).

Seeds

flattened.

slightly flattened.

2n

= 10.

Physaria recurvata

Physaria lepidota

Phenology Flowering Mar–Apr.
Habitat Light dry soils, limestone chip, open rocky areas, among boulders, roadsides, pastures, stony open sandy prairies, dry streamside meadows, calcareous soils, limestone outcroppings, scrub-oak grassland flats
Elevation 150-700 m (500-2300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
TX
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
UT
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Physaria recurvata is known from the Edwards Plateau.

(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. Trichomes: rays fused nearly to tips; fruits with deep sinuses, or shallow basally, deep apically.
subsp. lepidota
1. Trichomes: rays fused in proximal 1/2; fruits with sinuses absent or shallow basally, deep apically.
subsp. membranacea
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 660. FNA vol. 7, p. 648.
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. 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. 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. 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. lepidota subsp. lepidota, P. lepidota subsp. membranacea
Synonyms Vesicaria recurvata, Lesquerella recurvata
Name authority (Engelmann ex A. Gray) O’Kane & Al-Shehbaz: Novon 12: 327. (2002) Rollins: Brittonia 33: 335, figs. 1, 2. (1981)
Web links