Plant Image
Flowers
Yavapai Ranch - Sue Smith


Yavapai County Native & Naturalized Plants

Lesquerella arizonica - Arizona bladderpod

Synonyms: Physaria arizonica, Linnaeus arizonica var. nudicaulis, Physaria arizonica var. andrusensis
Plant Form: Forb or Subshrub

Family: Brassicaceae


   
 
line decor
  Home   Plant Communities Plant List Search Forbs and Subshrubs Search Grasses Search Woody Plants Additional Resources About this Website
line decor
 

Click on Any Image for a Larger View

Plant - spring
Little Thumb Butte
Sue Smith
Flowers
Little Thumb Butte
Sue Smith
Leaves
Little Thumb Butte
Sue Smith
Plant - spring
Yavapai Ranch
Sue Smith
Fruit
Little Thumb Butte
Sue Smith
Forb Plant Description

Origin: Native   Life Cycle: Perennial   Similar Species: Lesquerella sp.
General Desc: Small, ground-hugging plant arising from a woody base, forms compact mound. Non-woody stems simple or branching from the base. Stems and leaves silvery-gray and densely hairy, hairs star-like (8 hairs fused at the base).
Identification notes: Plant loosely tufted, arises from a woody base, strongly branched, leafy stems form a compact mound. Bright yellow, fragrant, 4-petaled flowers. Herbage silvery-gray and densely hairy. Styles shorter than the mature hairy fruits; fruits on curved stems.
Height: Up to 7 inches tall


Habitat

Habitat Description: Found on rocky slopes and mesas. Sandy and gravelly soils, limey knolls or limestone chip, often in open stands of sagebrush-pinyon, pinyon-juniper, Gambel oak and sometimes ponderosa pine.
Plant Communities: Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Montane Conifer Forest
Elevation: 3500 - 7300 feet


Flower Characteristics

Color: Bright yellow     Shape: Regular in elongated clusters     Tubular: N     Flowering Period: Apr - Jun
Description: Fragrant flowers, egg-shaped sepals, 1/8 to 1/4 inch; the 4 spreading petals narrow at their attachment, 1/4 to 1/2 inch across. Clusters of flowers on short racemes (flowers borne on short stalks along a central stem) but clusters often appear rounded.


Leaf and Stem Characteristics

Leaf Color: Grayish-green     Leaf Type: Simple     Leaf Shape: Narrow     Leaf Margin: Smooth     Leaf Attachment: Basal and opposite     Leaves Clasp: N
Hairs: Leaves and stems     Spines: N
Leaf Description: Base leaves densely tufted, blade-like, attached at narrow end, reflexed (bent backwards); margins entire, wavy, or shallowly toothed; pointed at the tips,; stem leaves are reduced in size up the stems, linear (narrow).


Fruit and Seed Characteristics

Fruit Type: Capsule
Fruit Notes: Inflated round or egg-shaped to ellipsoid capsules, 1/4 inch long, valves hairy outside, sometimes sparsely hairy inside, tufts of hair directly attach to the fruit.
Seed Notes: Seeds flattened.



  Arizona Cooperative Extension
Yavapai County
840 Rodeo Dr #C
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 445-6590
Version 8.0  
http://cales.arizona.edu/yavapaiplants/SpeciesDetailForb.php  
Last Updated: Dec 13, 2022
Content Questions/Comments: Email Matt Halldorson  
Legal Disclaimer