Lesquerella congesta
Encyclopedia
Lesquerella congesta is a rare species of flowering plant in the mustard family
known by the common name Dudley Bluffs bladderpod. It is endemic to western Colorado
in the United States, where it is known only from seven occurrences in Rio Blanco County
. It is federally listed as a threatened species.
This is a petite perennial herb taking the form of a small, compact mound no more than about 2 centimeters tall. A short stem arises from a hairy caudex
that remains buried in the soil. This is attached to a long, slender taproot
. The leaves are linear or lance-shaped and measure up to 1.5 centimeters in length. They are coated in hairs, giving them a gray or silver color. The inflorescence
is a raceme
of flowers. It is so short it generally lies within the densely-packed leaves. The flowers have bright yellow petals each about half a centimeter long. The fruit is a silique
about the same length. The flowers are pollinated by the bee
Andrena hicksii and other Andrena
species.
This plant grows on barren outcrops of rock in the notoriously petroleum-rich
Piceance Basin
. The substrate is pale to white in color, and the tiny, gray-colored plant is nearly invisible until it blooms in yellow flowers. The flat, open ground in the area is a section of the Green River Formation
exposed when rivers and creeks cut through the rock. The rock covers a vast network of oil shale
. About 90% of the plant's habitat is on land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management
. The BLM is establishing a plan to balance the needs of the plant and other organisms in the habitat with the proposed oil and gas exploration in the immediate area. The rock is also mined for deposits of nahcolite
and dawsonite
, two types of sodium minerals.
There are about 10,000 individual plants estimated to exist, all in an area of 88 square kilometers in one Colorado county. The plant is directly threatened by petroleum exploration activities. The effects of exploration on the species are not yet clear. While it is threatened, the species in general currently has a high probability of survival and does not yet meet the criteria for uplisting to endangered species
status.
Brassicaceae
Brassicaceae, a medium sized and economically important family of flowering plants , are informally known as the mustards, mustard flowers, the crucifers or the cabbage family....
known by the common name Dudley Bluffs bladderpod. It is endemic to western Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
in the United States, where it is known only from seven occurrences in Rio Blanco County
Rio Blanco County, Colorado
Rio Blanco County is the sixth most extensive of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 5,986 at U.S. Census 2000. The name of the county is the Spanish language name for the White River which runs through it...
. It is federally listed as a threatened species.
This is a petite perennial herb taking the form of a small, compact mound no more than about 2 centimeters tall. A short stem arises from a hairy caudex
Caudex
A caudex is a form of stem morphology appearing as a thickened, short, perennial stem that is either underground or near ground level . It may be swollen for the purpose of water storage, especially in xerophytes...
that remains buried in the soil. This is attached to a long, slender taproot
Taproot
A taproot is an enlarged, somewhat straight to tapering plant root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally.Plants with taproots are difficult to transplant...
. The leaves are linear or lance-shaped and measure up to 1.5 centimeters in length. They are coated in hairs, giving them a gray or silver color. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
of flowers. It is so short it generally lies within the densely-packed leaves. The flowers have bright yellow petals each about half a centimeter long. The fruit is a silique
Silique
A silique or siliqua is a fruit of 2 fused carpels with the length being more than three times the width. The outer walls of the ovary usually separate when ripe, leaving a persistent partition...
about the same length. The flowers are pollinated by the bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
Andrena hicksii and other Andrena
Andrena
Andrena is the largest genus in the family Andrenidae, and is nearly worldwide in distribution, with the notable exceptions of Oceania and South America. With over 1,300 species, it is one of the largest of all bee genera...
species.
This plant grows on barren outcrops of rock in the notoriously petroleum-rich
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
Piceance Basin
Piceance Basin
The Piceance Basin is a geologic structural basin in northwestern Colorado, in the United States. It includes geologic formations from Cambrian to Holocene in age, but the thickest section is made up of rocks from the Cretaceous Period...
. The substrate is pale to white in color, and the tiny, gray-colored plant is nearly invisible until it blooms in yellow flowers. The flat, open ground in the area is a section of the Green River Formation
Green River Formation
The Green River Formation is an Eocene geologic formation that records the sedimentation in a group of intermountain lakes. The sediments are deposited in very fine layers, a dark layer during the growing season and a light-hue inorganic layer in winter. Each pair of layers is called a varve and...
exposed when rivers and creeks cut through the rock. The rock covers a vast network of oil shale
Oil shale
Oil shale, an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, contains significant amounts of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil can be produced...
. About 90% of the plant's habitat is on land overseen by the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
. The BLM is establishing a plan to balance the needs of the plant and other organisms in the habitat with the proposed oil and gas exploration in the immediate area. The rock is also mined for deposits of nahcolite
Nahcolite
Nahcolite is a soft, colourless or white carbonate mineral with the composition of sodium bicarbonate also called thermokalite. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system....
and dawsonite
Dawsonite
Dawsonite is a mineral composed of sodium aluminium carbonate hydroxide, chemical formula NaAlCO32. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic crystal system. It is not mined for ore. It was discovered in 1874 during the construction of the Redpath Museum in a feldspathic dike on the campus of McGill...
, two types of sodium minerals.
There are about 10,000 individual plants estimated to exist, all in an area of 88 square kilometers in one Colorado county. The plant is directly threatened by petroleum exploration activities. The effects of exploration on the species are not yet clear. While it is threatened, the species in general currently has a high probability of survival and does not yet meet the criteria for uplisting to endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
status.