Fendler's Bladderpod
Author: Ray Bowers

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Species: Lesquerella fendleri

Description:
Fendler's bladderpod is a 10 to 30 cm (4 to 12 in) tall perennial with upright stems that are densely covered with linear leaves. The leaves are 10cm (4 in) long with smooth edges or a few with toothed edges. The silver-gray green surface is covered with tiny star-like scales.

Geographic range:
Fendler's bladderpod is found from eastern Arizona east to western Kansas, and then south into northern Mexico.

Habitat:
Fendler's bladderpod grows in sandy or gravelly soils on slopes or flats.

Reproduction and Development:
Fendler's bladderpod is a monoecious plant that blooms from February through April. The flowers have four bright yellow petals in a cross pattern and six stamens that extend beyond the petals. The fruit is a spherical smooth pod that is 6 to 9 mm (0.25 to 0.375 in) in diameter that splits in two when it dries.

Other info: Fendler's bladderpod is one of the earliest flowers to bloom, but if it is a dry spring it may not bloom till it rains.

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Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Brassicales
Family: Brassicaceae
Genus: Lesquerella
Species: Lesquerella fendleri

References:
Allred, Kelly W. 2000. A Field Guide to the Flora of the Jornada Plain. Las Cruces: NMSU Department of Animal and Range Science.

Kearney, Thomas H. and Robert H. Peebles. 1951. Arizona Flora. Berkeley, California: University of California Press.

Niehaus, Theodore F. 1984. A Field Guide to Southwestern and Texas Wildflowers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

MacMahon, James A. 1987. Deserts. New York: Alfred A. Knoph, Inc.

Wooton, E.O. and Paul C. Standley. 1915. Flora of New Mexico. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, Vol 19. Washington: Government Printing Office.

Related Terms: Magnoliophyta, Magnoliopsida