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Physaria gordonii   (A. Gray ) O'Kane & Al-Shehbaz
[=Lesquerella gordonii  (A. Gray ) S. Wats.]
Barber County, Kansas
Height: 4-16 inches
Family: Brassicaceae - Mustard Family
Flowering Period:   March, April, May, June
Stems: Erect, decumbent or prostrate, several, sometimes branched, leafy.
Leaves: Alternate, simple, stalked below, sessile above, elliptic to obovate below, linear to oblanceolate, often sickle-shaped above, 1/2 to 3 inches long, mostly less than 1/2 inch wide, densely covered with star-shaped hairs; margins pinnately cleft to entire below, entire to unevenly or shallowly toothed above.
Inflorescences: Racemes, dense, terminal. Fruiting pedicels spreading to ascending, usually sigmoid, sometimes straight, 1/5 to 1 inch.
Flowers: Sepals 4, elliptic or oblong; petals 4, 1/5 to 2/5 inch long, yellow to orange, widely spreading; stamens 6, 2 short, 4 long.
Fruits: Pods, spherical, glabrous; stalks 1/4 to 1 inch long, typically S-shaped; seeds flattened, orange to rust-colored.
Habitat: Sandy or gravelly disturbed areas.
Distribution: Principally southwest 1/4 of Kansas.
Comments: Another common name is "popweed", which is in reference to the sound the pods make when crushed. This species is named for Alexander Gordon, a Scottish American botanist.
 See also oval-leaf bladderpod

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Barber County, Kansas
Bladderpod flowers and pods
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Barber County, Kansas
Bladderpod leaves
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Barber County, Kansas