Intermountain bladderpod facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Intermountain bladderpod |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Physaria
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| Species: |
hemiphysaria
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| Synonyms | |
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Lesquerella hemiphysaria |
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The Physaria hemiphysaria, also known as the Intermountain bladderpod or skyline bladderpod, is a cool flowering plant. It belongs to the mustard family. This plant is special because it only grows in Utah, United States. When a plant or animal only lives in one specific place, it's called endemic.
You can find the Intermountain bladderpod growing on rocky ridges and outcrops. It likes places with sandstone, shale, clay, and sand.
Contents
About the Intermountain Bladderpod
The Intermountain bladderpod is a type of perennial herb. This means it's a plant that lives for more than two years. It grows back each year from its roots.
What Does It Look Like?
This plant has strong stems that grow along the ground. These are called decumbent stems, and they can be about 10 to 20 centimeters long. The stems grow from a thick, woody base called a caudex.
Its leaves can be up to 5.5 centimeters long. The leaves closer to the bottom of the plant might have slightly toothed edges. The leaves higher up on the stem usually have smooth edges.
The flowers grow in a cluster called an inflorescence. This plant's flowers are arranged in a long, narrow cluster called a raceme. Each flower has pretty yellow petals. After the flowers bloom, the plant produces a small fruit called a silique. This fruit is only a few millimeters long.
Where Does It Live?
As we mentioned, the Intermountain bladderpod is found only in Utah. It prefers specific types of rocky areas. This makes it a unique part of Utah's natural environment.
Different Kinds of Bladderpods
There are actually two slightly different types, or subspecies, of this plant:
- The ssp. hemiphysaria lives on the Wasatch Plateau in Utah.
- The ssp. lucens is also known as the Tavaputs bladderpod or Range Creek bladderpod. This subspecies is found only on the West Tavaputs Plateau.
