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Montana Field Guides

Spatula-leaf Bladderpod - Physaria spatulata
Other Names:  Lesquerella alpina var. spatulata [in part and misapplied], Physaria reediana ssp. spatulata, Physaria eriocarpa

Status Under Review
Native Species

Global Rank: GNR
State Rank: SNR
C-value:


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

External Links






 
General Description
Stems simple, erect to ascending, 1–15 cm from a simple or branched caudex clothed in old leaf bases. Basal leaves 7–30 mm long, oblanceolate to spatulate, entire. Stem leaves linear to narrowly oblanceolate. Vestiture of dense, appressed, stellate hairs. Petals 5–7 mm long. Fruit ovoid, inflated, 2–5 mm high; style 2–3.5 mm long; seeds 2 to 4 per locule; pedicels sigmoid-spreading, 4–12 mm long (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Diagnostic Characteristics
Spatula-leaf Bladderpod - Physaria spatulata
*Pedicles are sigmoid-spreading, 4-12 mm long - at least twice as long as the fruit (silicle).
*Fruits inflated, not 2-lobed, ovoid, and 2-5 mm high. Style is more than half the length of the fruit.
*Basal leaf blades thinner than 1 mm.
*Plants grow in sandy or gravelly soil (calcareous or not) on exposed slopes and ridges in grasslands, steppe, woodlands, and fellfields in the plains, valleys, montane, and alpine zones.

Thick-leaf BladderpodPhysaria pachyphylla, SOC
*Pedicels curve upwards (ascend), 3-10 mm long.
*Fruits inflated, not 2-lobed, and narrowly elliptic to ovoid, 3-6 mm tall. Style is more than half the length of the fruit (silicle).
*Basal leaves have distinct petioles and blades. Blades are spatulate to oblanceolate in shape, nearly 1 mm thick and cupped (but not folded), and with entire margins [key characteristic].
*Plants grow on pinkish or reddish soils derived from limestone on exposed slopes and ridges in valleys.

Species Range
Montana Range Range Descriptions

Native
 


Range Comments
AB, SK south to WY and SD (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 231

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

 

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)



Habitat
Sandy or gravelly soil of exposed slopes, ridges in grasslands, steppe, woodlands, fellfields, more common in calcareous soil; plains, valleys to alpine (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).


References
  • Literature Cited AboveLegend:   View Online Publication
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • Grady, B. R., and S. L. O'Kane. 2007. New Species and Combinations in Physaria (Brassicaceae) from Western North America. Novon 17 (2): 182-192.
    • Grady, Benjamin R. 2005. Molecules, morphology, and biogeography: an analysis of the phylogeny and taxonomy of the Physaria reediana species complex (Brassicaceae).
    • Harvey, S.J. 1990. Responses of steppe plants to gradients of water soil texture and disturbance in Montana, U.S.A. Ph.D. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 34 p.
    • Jones, W. W. 1901. Preliminary flora of Gallatin County. M.S. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State College. 78 pp.
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
    • Seipel, T.F. 2006. Plant species diversity in the sagebrush steppe of Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 87 p.
  • Web Search Engines for Articles on "Spatula-leaf Bladderpod"
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Citation for data on this website:
Spatula-leaf Bladderpod — Physaria spatulata.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from