Physaria filiformis

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Physaria filiformis
Lesquerella filiformis.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Brassicales
Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Physaria
Species:
P. filiformis
Binomial name
Physaria filiformis
Synonyms [1]

Lesquerella filiformis Rollins 1956

Physaria filiformis (syn. Lesquerella filiformis) is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names Missouri bladderpod and limestone glade bladderpod. It is native to Missouri and Arkansas in the United States. [2] It was federally listed as an endangered species in 1987 and it was downlisted to threatened status in 2003. [3] P. filiformis remains listed as an endangered species at the state level in Missouri. [4]

Contents

Description

Physaria filiformis is an annual herb producing several slender, branching stems up to 25 centimeters (10 inches) tall, growing erect or drooping. The leaves vary in shape, and the basal ones reach 2.4 centimeters (0.96 inch) in length. Both the leaves and the stems have a dense covering of fine hairs, which gives the plant a silvery-gray appearance. [4] The inflorescence is a raceme of pale yellow flowers with petals half a centimeter to nearly one centimeter (0.4 inch) long. The fruit is a spherical silique. The plant is a winter annual, sprouting and forming a basal rosette of leaves in the fall and then producing stems and flower the following spring. Seeds are dispersed on the wind and in surface runoff. [5]

Distribution and habitat

Physaria filiformis grows in limestone glades and outcrops of bare bedrock in southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas. [5] The surrounding habitat may be prairie and pasture. [3] Several types of forest may be adjacent to the glades. The soil is shallow on the glades and supports few other plants. The plant grows less often in more vegetated areas with deeper soils, probably because other plants successfully compete with it there. It is also less abundant in the shady understory of Juniperus virginiana forest, as sunlight is a limiting factor in its growth. It can be found in a number of microhabitats, a factor that is important in its management and conservation. [6] Wildfire is important in the maintenance of the limestone glade habitat and even more so its surrounding ecotones. Fire is the mechanism that keeps these habitats open and free of large and woody vegetation that shade out small annuals. [3] Fire prevents ecological succession in the open habitat where the plant grows.

As the health of the local ecosystem depends on fire, the practice of fire suppression has caused the degradation of the habitat. When fire is prevented, woody vegetation moves in, covering the glades and blocking the light from reaching this small plant. [3] This encroachment of surrounding vegetation is a main threat to the species. [5] Other threats include off-road vehicles, limestone mining, and urban development. [5] Invasive species of plants have been introduced to the habitat, including Bromus tectorum , a competitive grass. The plant may be affected by grazing, trampling, and other disturbance, but these threats are mild because the plant can tolerate light disturbance. [3]

Conservation

When Physaria filiformis was designated an endangered species there were nine populations. Extensive surveys located more occurrences and many of these were put under the protection of a number of agencies, including the National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy. By 2003 there were about 60 populations and the outlook for the plant had improved enough to warrant its downlisting to threatened status. [3]

Most occurrences of the plant are in southwestern Missouri. A large population can be found at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield. Other protected populations are being managed at Rocky Barrens Conservation Area (Missouri Department of Conservation), Greenfield Glade (The Nature Conservancy), and Bois d'Arc Conservation Area (Missouri Department of Conservation). [4] Nearly all remaining sites are on privately owned land. Conservation activities include protection of the habitat in public areas, prescribed burns to replace the natural fire regime, and reduced use of herbicides. [5]

To better inform conservation efforts, a recent study to understand genetic diversity and structure in Physaria filiformis was conducted and found there could be enough genetic variation between geographically isolated populations for them to be considered separate species. [7] Whether or not a separate species is distinguished, protecting each separate population's genetic diversity is critical to help conservation efforts succeed.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calcareous glade</span> Type of ecological community found where bedrock occurs near the surface.

A calcareous glade is a type of ecological community that is found in the central Eastern United States. Calcareous glades occur where bedrock such as limestone occurs near or at the surface, and have very shallow and little soil development. Due to the shallow soil and the extreme conditions created by it, trees are often unable to grow in the glades. This creates a habitat that is usually sunny, dry, and hot. Calcareous glade vegetation is more similar to that of a desert habitat than a grassland, being dominated by small spring annuals with occasional geophytic or succulent perennials.

<i>Dalea foliosa</i> Species of plant

Dalea foliosa, commonly called leafy prairie clover, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family (Fabaceae). It is an endangered species in the United States, where it occurs in three states: Illinois, Tennessee, and Alabama.

<i>Physaria</i> Genus of flowering plants

Physaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae. Many species are known generally as twinpods, bladderpods, or lesquerella. They are native to the Americas, with many species endemic to western North America. They are densely hairy annual and perennial herbs often growing prostrate or decumbent, along the ground in patches or clumps. They bear inflorescences of bright yellow flowers. The fruit is often notched deeply, dividing into twin sections, giving the genus its common name.

<i>Paysonia lyrata</i> Species of flowering plant

Paysonia lyrata is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name lyreleaf bladderpod. It is endemic to Alabama in the United States, where it is known from only three occurrences. It is federally listed as a threatened species.

Paysonia perforata, known by the common name Spring Creek bladderpod, is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family. It is endemic to Tennessee in the United States, where it is known only from Wilson County. This very rare plant is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. It is federally listed as an endangered species.

<i>Physaria obcordata</i> Species of flowering plant

Physaria obcordata is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name Dudley Bluffs twinpod. It is similar in appearance to the more common Piceance twinpod, but can be distinguished by looking at the leaves through a hand lens. The Piceance twinpod, Physaria acutifolia has stellate hairs when viewed through a hand lens while Physaria ocordata has markings that look like a satellite dish, or a circle with a dot in the middle. It is endemic to Colorado, where it is found only in the Piceance Basin in Rio Blanco County. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.

<i>Solidago houghtonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Solidago houghtonii is a rare North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known as Houghton's goldenrod. It is native to southern Ontario, Canada and the northern United States. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States and it is designated a species of special concern by Canada's Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

<i>Physaria globosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Physaria globosa is a rare flowering plant in the mustard family commonly known as globe bladderpod, Short's bladderpod, and Lesquereux's mustard. It is endemic to the United States, where it is limited to Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. It is a rare species throughout its range and in 2014 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule protecting it under the Endangered Species Act.

Physaria parviflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names Piceance bladderpod and frosty bladderpod. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it occurs in Garfield, Mesa, and Rio Blanco Counties.

<i>Physaria bellii</i> Species of flowering plant

Physaria bellii is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names Bell's twinpod and Front Range twinpod. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States.

Physaria fremontii is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name Fremont's bladderpod. It is endemic to Wyoming in the United States, where it occurs only in and around the Wind River Range in Fremont County.

<i>Physaria tenella</i> Species of flowering plant

Physaria tenella is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names Moapa bladderpod and slender bladderpod. It is native to western North America from Utah to Sonora, where it grows mainly in desert habitat. This is an annual herb producing several hairy multibranched erect to spreading stems sometimes exceeding half a meter long. The basal leaves are up to 6.5 centimeters long and sometimes toothed, and there are smaller leaves higher on the stem. The inflorescence is a raceme of flowers at the tip of the stem. The mustardlike flower has four orange to bright yellow petals each up to a centimeter long. The fruit is a plump, hairy, rounded capsule containing flat orange seeds.

Leavenworthia crassa is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family, Brassicaceae, known commonly as the fleshy-fruit gladecress. It is endemic to Alabama in the United States, where it occurs in only two counties. It is "likely one of the most imperiled plant species in the Southeast," and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule listing it as an endangered species in 2014.

Physaria pallida is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name white bladderpod. It is endemic to Texas in the United States, where it is known only from San Augustine County. It is federally listed as an endangered species.

<i>Physaria congesta</i> Species of flowering plant

Physaria congesta is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name Dudley Bluffs bladderpod. It is endemic to western Colorado in the United States, where it is known only from seven occurrences in Rio Blanco County. It is federally listed as a threatened species.

<i>Physaria parvula</i> Species of flowering plant

Physaria parvula is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name pygmy bladderpod. It is native to the Western United States, where it can be found in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.

<i>Physaria pruinosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Physaria pruinosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names Pagosa Springs bladderpod and frosty bladderpod. It is native to Colorado and New Mexico in the United States.

<i>Physaria thamnophila</i> Species of flowering plant

Physaria thamnophila is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name Zapata bladderpod. It is native to Texas in the United States, where it is known from Zapata and Starr Counties. The plant is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. It is federally listed as an endangered species.

<i>Physaria tumulosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Physaria tumulosa is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name Kodachrome bladderpod. It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where it is known only from Kane County. There is only one known population of this plant made up of scattered occurrences totalling about 20,000 individuals, all within the Kodachrome Basin. The plant is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat. It is federally listed as an endangered species. It was previously treated as a subspecies of Physaria hitchcockii.

<i>Physaria ludoviciana</i> Species of flowering plant in the cabbage family Brassicaceae

Physaria ludoviciana is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family Brassicaceae, with the common names of bladder pod, silver bladderpod, louisiana bladderpod, and foothill bladderpod. It used to be Lesquerella ludoviciana which is now a synonym.

References

  1. ↑ The Plant List, Physaria filiformis (Rollins) O'Kane & Al-Shehbaz
  2. ↑ Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lesquerella filiformis. The Nature Conservancy.
  4. 1 2 3 "Missouri Bladderpod". Missouri Department of Conservation. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Lesquerella filiformis. Center for Plant Conservation.
  6. ↑ Young, C. C., et al. (2009) Habitat relationships and management implications for Lesquerella filiformis Rollins (Missouri bladderpod) on a xeric limestone prairie. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 136(2) 233-41.
  7. ↑ Edwards, C.; Tessier, B.; Swift, J.; Bassüner, B.; Linan, A.; Albrecht, M.; Yatskievych, G. (March 11, 2021). "Conservation genetics of the threatened plant species Physaria filiformis (Missouri bladderpod) reveals strong genetic structure and a possible cryptic species". PLOS ONE. 16: 3 – via ResearchGate.
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