Physaria gordonii, Gordons' Bladderpod
Scientific Name: Physaria gordonii
Common Name: Gordons' Bladderpod
Also Called: Bladderpod, Gordon Bladderpod
Family: Brassicaceae, Mustard Family
Synonyms: (Lesquerella gordonii)
Status: Native
Duration: Annual, biennial or perennial.
Size: Up to 16 inches.
Growth Form: Forb/herb; erect or prostrate (trailing or spreading); multiple branches, stems hairy pubescent.
Leaves: Green or gray-green; pubescent, leaves variable; basal leaves margins lobed, toothed or entire; cauline or stem leaves simple, petiolate, linear, lanceolate to oblanceolate.
Flower Color: Bright yellow; fruit round or glandular hair, globose capsule, glabrous, fruit stems (pedicels ) curved.
Flowering Season: February to May.
Elevation: Below 5,000 feet.
Habitat Preferences: Dry plains and mesas; sandy soils.
Recorded Range: Southwest and central United States in AZ, KS, NM, OK, TX and VA and northern Mexico. VA record not native. In Arizona Gordons' Bladderpod is found in central and southern parts of the state.
North America & US County Distribution Map for Physaria gordonii as Lesquerella gordonii.
U.S. Weed Information: No data available.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No data available.
Wetland Indicator: No data available.
Threatened/Endangered Information: No data available.
Genus Information: 27 species in Physaria throughout the western half of the United States and southern Canada and Mexico after recent taxonomic changes. 3 species in Arizona.
Gordons’ Bladderpod remains classified under the old genus Lesquerella by the USGS Plants Database with about 75 species in the United States, Canada and Mexico. 12 Lesquerella species in Arizona.
2 varieties in Lesquerella gordonii:
Lesquerella gordonii var. densifolia, Gordon's Bladderpod; and
Lesquerella gordonii var. gordonii, Gordon's Bladderpod which is limited in distribution to central New Mexico.
Comments: With ample spring rainfall, Gordons’ Bladderpod can carpet a large area in bright yellow. The original genus is named in honor of Leo Lesquereux, 1805-1889, Swiss and American Botanist.