Physaria pruinosa

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Physaria pruinosa
Lesquerella pruinosa.jpg
Status TNC G2.svg
Imperiled  (NatureServe) [1]
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. pruinosa
Binomial name
Physaria pruinosa
(Greene) O’Kane & Al-Shehbaz
Synonyms

Lesquerella pruinosaGreene

Physaria pruinosa [2] [3] (syn. Lesquerella pruinosa) [1] [4] [5] 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. [1]

This plant is a perennial herb growing from a caudex which is clothed in the dried leaf blades of previous seasons. [3] It is coated in short hairs, giving it a frosted look and giving it one of its common names. [4] The decumbent or erect stems grow up to 20 centimeters long. The variously shaped leaves are up to 8 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a dense raceme of flowers with yellow petals roughly a centimeter long. The fruit is an inflated pod just under a centimeter long which is glossy and copper-colored. Flowering occurs in May through August. [3] [4]

This plant occurs in the foothills of the San Juan Mountains. Its distribution runs through Archuleta and Hinsdale Counties in Colorado and Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, with its center near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. The land is managed by the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, and part of the distribution lies on private land and the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. [4]

The habitat is made up of barrens and grasslands with the gray clay soils derived from the Mancos Shale. There are some occurrences near Ponderosa pines and Gambel oaks. It is also associated with Douglas-fir and Engelmann spruce. The plants grow in open areas, but can tolerate some shade. They are adapted to disturbed sites, as they grow on shales which are constantly crumbling and eroding. It can also grow on artificially disturbed sites such as roadsides and it can colonize bare soils. Associated plants include Arizona fescue, rushy milkvetch, mountain snowberry, sun sedge, Woods' rose, and Gray's Townsend daisy. It can be found growing with the rare species Pagosa skyrocket and Rothrock's Townsend daisy. [4]

The greatest threats to the survival of this plant are forces that destroy its habitat. These include development, off-road vehicle use, energy exploration and development, introduced species, herbicides, and grazing. Development in the vicinity of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, is probably the worst threat. [1] [4] Its habitat is currently being consumed for residential and commercial development. Roads are being constructed, destroying habitat and facilitating the spread of weeds that compete with the plant. [4] Archuleta County, Colorado, "is one of the fastest growing counties in the United States." [1]

Estimates of the total number of plants remaining are anywhere between 5,209 and 20,619, with one estimate being 12,852 individuals. [1]

Related Research Articles

<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 filiformis</i> Species of plant

Physaria 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. It was federally listed as an endangered species in 1987 and it was downlisted to threatened status in 2003. P. filiformis remains listed as an endangered species at the state level in Missouri.

<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>Ipomopsis polyantha</i> Species of flowering plant

Ipomopsis polyantha is a rare species of flowering plant in the phlox family known by the common names Pagosa ipomopsis, Pagosa skyrocket and Archuleta County standing-cypress. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where it occurs only in the vicinity of Pagosa Springs in Archuleta County. It is threatened by the loss of its habitat to residential and commercial development. It was federally listed as an endangered species in 2011.

Physaria hemiphysaria is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common names Intermountain bladderpod and skyline bladderpod. It is endemic to Utah in the United States, where it grows on rocky ridges and outcrops of sandstone, shale, clay, and sand.

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>Paysonia stonensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Paysonia stonensis is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, known by the common name Stones River bladderpod. It is endemic to Tennessee in the United States, where it is limited to Rutherford County. It grows only in the floodplains of the Stones River, and certain tributaries.

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>Townsendia rothrockii</i> Species of flowering plant

Townsendia rothrockii is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Rothrock's Townsend daisy. It is endemic to Colorado in the United States, where there are 35 occurrences across thirteen counties. Reports of the plant from New Mexico are false.

<i>Oenothera harringtonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Oenothera harringtonii is a species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family known by the common names Arkansas Valley evening primrose and Colorado Springs evening primrose. It is endemic to the state of Colorado in the United States.

<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.

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

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 kingii</i> Species of flowering plant

Physaria kingii is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common name King bladderpod. It is native to western North America from Utah to Baja California, where it grows in dry and rocky habitat, such as deserts and adjacent mountain slopes. This is a perennial herb growing a small, hairy stem from a caudex. The leaves form a patch or rosette around the caudex, each up to 6 centimeters long and round, oval, diamond, or spoonlike in shape. The inflorescence is an erect or mostly upright raceme of bright yellow mustardlike flowers. The fruit is a hairy capsule under a centimeter long suspended on a short, often curvy pedicel.

<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 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. 1 2 3 4 5 6 NatureServe (2023). "Physaria pruinosa". Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  2. "Physaria pruinosa". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Physaria pruinosa. Flora of North America.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Anderson, D.G. (2006, August 29). Lesquerella pruinosa Greene (Pagosa bladderpod): a technical conservation assessment. [Online]. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region.
  5. Lesquerella pruinosa. USDA Plants Profile.