Physaria Species, White Bladderpod

I have not grown this plant nor have I ever observed growing natively.

White bladderpod (Lesquerella pallida) is Texas end...Read Moreemic native plant. It grows in one county, San Augustine, in east Texas and is an endangered species and is protected by Texas state and Unirted States laws. This winter annual bladderpod, overwinters as a tap-rooted, leafy rosette. It reaches a height of between 2 to 25 inches and may be an erect plant or may be spreading. The leaves are linear or oblong with margins that are smooth, toothed or wavy. The up to 4 inches long basal leaves are deeply lobed. The leaves are on stalks up to 1.5 inches long. Further up stem, the leaves are smaller with no lobes. The four-petalled white flowers appear in April and May. The petals are about one-half inch long. Flowers are produced singly on tops of the stems or in groups of as many as 20 along an elongated stem. White bladderpod blooms are followed by pea-shaped "bladderpods" that enclose seeds. As its harsh habitat dries in the summer heat, the plant dies. The seeds mature from late May to early June.

After its discovery in 1830, the white bladderpod escaped detection until 1981. It was rediscovered by botanists searching for a different rare plant species. The white bladderpod is restricted to seasonally wet, basic soils in naturally treeless glades on top of the Weches Formation. This formation was created by sediment which was deposited by receding primordial ocean waters. The thin layer of alkaline soil is rather rare in East Texas where most of the soil surrounding the forested area is acidic.

The white bladderpod is intolerant of the acidic soil which explains the primary reason for its decline in numbers. Other reasons for its decline include urban development, road construction and maintenance, over-grazing, overuse of herbicides, poultry farms and mining of glauconite (“greenrock” -used to make "greensand"). The greatest current impact is the encroachment by invasive, non-native plant species, especially Macartney rose and Japanese honeysuckle.

White bladderpod is one of he National Collection of Endangered Plants which is composed of more than 600 of the most iendangered plants in the country. Participating botanical institutions collect and maintain rare plant material. Scientists collect seeds and plant material from the rare plants in their region and use it to grow the plants for restoration work. White bladderpod is sponsored by the Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens.