King bladderpod facts for kids

Quick facts for kids King bladderpod
subsp. bernardina
Conservation status
Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Physaria
Species:	kingii

Physaria kingii, also known as the King bladderpod, is a type of flowering plant. It belongs to the Brassicaceae family, which includes plants like mustard. This plant grows naturally in western North America. You can find it from Utah all the way down to Baja California.

It likes dry, rocky places. This includes deserts and the lower parts of mountains. The King bladderpod is a perennial plant. This means it lives for more than two years. It is also a herb, so it has soft stems, not woody ones.

About the King Bladderpod

The King bladderpod grows a small, hairy stem. This stem comes from a thick base called a caudex. The leaves grow in a circle or "rosette" around this base. Each leaf can be up to 6 centimeters long. They can be round, oval, diamond-shaped, or even look like a spoon.

What it Looks Like

The plant produces bright yellow flowers. These flowers look a lot like tiny mustard flowers. They grow in a tall, upright cluster called a raceme. This is a type of inflorescence, which is how flowers are arranged on a plant.

After the flowers bloom, they turn into fruit. The fruit is a small, hairy capsule. It is less than a centimeter long. Each fruit hangs from a short, often curvy stalk. This stalk is called a pedicel.

Special Subspecies

There are three different types, or subspecies, of the King bladderpod. One of these is very rare. It is called the San Bernardino Mountains bladderpod (subsp. bernardina). This special plant is found in only a few spots. These spots are near Big Bear in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California.

Protecting the Plant

Because it is so rare, the San Bernardino Mountains bladderpod is an endangered species. This means it is at risk of disappearing forever. Human activities like mining threaten its habitat. Protecting these plants helps keep our natural world healthy.