Missouri bladderpod - Lesquerella filiformis
![[Photo of Missouri bladderpod]](images/bladder1.gif)
Missouri bladderpod is a small yellow-flowered plant in the mustard family found only in southwest Missouri. It gets its name from the spherical fruits or "bladders" that contain seeds. Missouri bladderpods live on limestone glades and rocky outcroppings and can be locally abundant in rocky pastures. Missouri bladderpod populations are threatened by loss of habitat, mostly from competition with exotic grasses and woody vegetation and from human development in this rapidly growing part of the state. Missouri bladderpod is listed ENDANGERED by the Missouri Department of Conservation and ENDANGERED by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Identification
![[drawing of Missouri bladderpod]](images/bladder2.gif)
Missouri bladderpod is a herbaceous, annual plant growing 4 to 8 inches tall, producing numerous slender stems from its base. Leaves are less than an inch long and taper towards the stems. Both the leaves and the stems have a dense covering of fine hairs, which gives the plant a silvery-gray appearance.
Missouri bladderpods flower from April to May, producing showy, 4-petaled, bright yellow blossoms clustered at the tops of the stems. The fruits, which appear from May to early June, are small (1/8 inch diameter), spherical, and green, gradually turning brown as they dry. Each fruit contains 4 flattened brown seeds.
Bladderpod seeds drop to the ground in late May and early June, lie dormant through the hot summer, and germinate in the fall. They grow in a rosette, which appears as a tiny, button-sized cluster of leaves on the ground. The rosette remains throughout the winter until spring, when stems and flowers emerge.
One other Lesquerella species occurs in Missouri, spreading bladderpod (Lesquerella gracilis). Unlike Missouri bladderpod, spreading bladderpod does not have a silvery-gray appearance, and it does not occur within the range of Missouri bladderpod.
For a technical description of this plant, refer to:
Steyermark, J.A. 1963. Flora of Missouri. Iowa State Press. Ames, Iowa. 1728 pp.
Habitat and Distribution
![[map of Missouri]](images/momap.gif)
Missouri bladderpod occurs primarily in limestone glades and rocky open areas. Many populations have persisted in grazed pastures, rocky open woods and limestone outcrops along roadsides.
Missouri bladderpod is presently found in the following Missouri counties: Dade, Greene, Christian, and Lawrence. Protected populations are being managed at Wilson's Creek National Battlefield (National Park Service), Rocky Barrens Conservation Area (Missouri Department of Conservation), Greenfield Glade (The Nature Conservancy), and Bois d'Arc Conservation Area (Missouri Department of Conservation). Nearly all of the remaining sites are on privately owned land.
Cause of Historic Decline
Historically, populations of bladderpod were restricted to limestone glades and rocky, open areas. Encroachment of woody vegetation and introduced grasses such as tall fescue into these habitats, along with large fluctuations in bladderpod populations were the reasons for the concern and listing of this species. Recent surveys indicate that some local populations of bladderpod are doing well. Bladderpod is an annual plant and it competes poorly with cedar trees, cheat grass, and fescue. Therefore, good glade management is essential to the survival of the bladderpod, and landowners can take an active role in preserving and increasing local populations.
Current Threats to Missouri Bladderpod
- Highway construction and urbanization - Missouri bladderpod habitat has been lost through urbanization and road development.
- Poor glade management - The absence of fires and other disturbances allows woody plants, especially cedars to invade prairies and glades. As cedars take over an area, they alter the habitat and make it unsuitable for the bladderpod. In addition, the absence of fire causes plant litter to accumulate and keeps stored nutrients from being released back into the soil. Missouri bladderpod does not compete well with introduced plants. When grasses like fescue and cheat grass become established in areas with bladderpod populations, bladderpod numbers decline.
- Conversion of pastures - Livestock grazing that converts rocky, native grasslands into cool season grasses is harmful to bladderpod populations.
Protection and Management: Steps Toward Recovery
Missouri bladderpod has always been restricted to limestone glades and dry rocky outcrops in southwest Missouri. Though some populations probably increased due to livestock grazing, this plant will not grow under any other natural conditions. Recovery of this plant will be achieved by protecting and managing existing populations and their habitat.
Managing Missouri bladderpod requires restoring the native glade natural community. Promote land management activities that reduce woody vegetation and reduce competition from weedy grasses such as cheat grass and introduced grasses such as fescue. Protect glade habitat from highway construction and urban development by avoiding glades for these activities. Use glades as open space or for pasture.
- Use prescribed fire as a management tool - to remove leaves, dead grass, and accumulated organic matter and to set back woody species. A prescribed fire is useful when conducted in August at 3 to 5 year intervals. Prescribed fires are best conducted while fescue and other weedy grasses are green and photosynthesizing, but not so late that bladderpod seeds have germinated. Fires should be conducted no later than August.
- Graze livestock in a manner that promotes Missouri bladderpod - but does not promote fescue and weedy grasses. Bladderpods benefit from some degree of soil disturbance, and regular grazing can increase bladderpod populations. However, conversion of prairie grasslands to cool season grasses and the encroachment of highly invasive grasses like cheat grass has caused habitat loss. Some bladderpod populations have thrived with repeated, excessive soil disturbance such as that caused by grazing by goats.
- Control introduced grasses like fescue and weedy grasses such as cheat grass. - Established fescue and cheat grass threaten bladderpod populations at some sites. Fall applications of Round-Up(tm), followed by prescribed fire, provide control. August is a good month to spray, especially after the native flora is dormant. Because soil disturbance may stimulate fescue seed germination, annual treatments may be necessary until the fescue is eradicated. Avoid using herbicide during the bladderpod growing period (September through June).
- Reduce encroachment of woody vegetation - on limestone glades and dry, rocky pastures that support bladderpod populations. Glades overgrown with cedars shade out the ground flora, including Missouri bladderpod. If the glade is being invaded by cedars and other woody species, cut and remove the woody vegetation. Cedar stumps will not resprout, but other species should be treated with herbicide. The objective is not to remove all trees, as oaks and other native species are part of the glade community, but to greatly reduce highly invasive woody species which compete with bladderpod.
- * Herbicide Note * - The timing of herbicide application is critical. No herbicides should ever be applied after seed germination (December) until plants complete their annual growth. For more information about timing herbicide application, please contact the Missouri Department of Conservation or the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Missouri and federal law prohibits the exportation, transportation, or sale of plants on the State or Federal lists.
Endangered Species Coordinator or Natural History Division Botanist Missouri Department of Conservation Natural History Division P.O. Box 180 Jefferson City, MO 65102 573/751-4115
For more information on pasture improvement programs or additional information about Missouri bladderpod management, contact:
Your Local Natural Resources Conservation Service Office
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