Scientific Family
Brassicaceae
Synonyms
Physaria arizonica, Linnaeus arizonica var. nudicaulis, Physaria arizonica var. andrusensis
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Similar species
Lesquerella sp.
Height
Up to 7 inches tall
Riparian
No
Small, ground-hugging plant arising from a woody base, forms compact mound. Non-woody stems simple or branching from the base. Stems and leaves silvery-gray and densely hairy, hairs star-like (8 hairs fused at the base).
Plant loosely tufted, arises from a woody base, strongly branched, leafy stems form a compact mound. Bright yellow, fragrant, 4-petaled flowers. Herbage silvery-gray and densely hairy. Styles shorter than the mature hairy fruits; fruits on curved stems.
Habitat
Found on rocky slopes and mesas. Sandy and gravelly soils, limey knolls or limestone chip, often in open stands of sagebrush-pinyon, pinyon-juniper, Gambel oak and sometimes ponderosa pine.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Montane Conifer Forest
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Low elevation
3500
High elevation
7300
Flower Characteristics
Fragrant flowers, egg-shaped sepals, 1/8 to 1/4 inch; the 4 spreading petals narrow at their attachment, 1/4 to 1/2 inch across. Clusters of flowers on short racemes (flowers borne on short stalks along a central stem) but clusters often appear rounded.
Flower color
Bright yellow
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
April
Last bloom month
June
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Base leaves densely tufted, blade-like, attached at narrow end, reflexed (bent backwards); margins entire, wavy, or shallowly toothed; pointed at the tips,; stem leaves are reduced in size up the stems, linear (narrow).
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Grayish-green
Leaf shape
Narrow
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Inflated round or egg-shaped to ellipsoid capsules, 1/4 inch long, valves hairy outside, sometimes sparsely hairy inside, tufts of hair directly attach to the fruit.
Fruit type
Capsule
Seeds flattened.