Taxonomy:
                                                   Family                         Brassicaceae
                                                           Genus                          Lesquerella
                                                   Species                        pallida
 

Origin:

All species of Lesquerella are native to North and South America.  Eighty-three of the 95 known species are indigenous to North America.  Many species are now concentrated in in the southwestern United States and Mexico.
 
 

Ecology/Distribution:

The white bladderpod is a winter annual that overwinters as a leafy rosette.  It reaches a maximum height of two feet when it produces one inch flowers in April and May.  It then produces pea shaped pods that enclose seeds before dying as its harsh habitat dries in summer heat.  The white bladderpod is restricted to seasonally wet, basic soils in naturally treeless glades on top of the Weches Formation.  These unusual rocky outcroppings occur in a strip of land that parallels the Gulf coast from Sabine to Atacosa and Frio counties.  These formations were created by sediment deposited by receding primordial ocean waters.

        Range:  Pineywoods, San Augustine County 
 
 

History:

After its initial discovery in 1830 near San Augustine, the white bladderpod escaped detection.  It was not until 1981 that it was rediscovered by botanists searching for a different rare species. The thin layer of alkaline soil is rather rare in East Texas.  Most of the soil surrounding the forested area is acidic.  Unfortunately, the white bladderpod is intolerant of the acidic soil.  This is the primary reason for its decline in numbers.  Also, the thin soil layer is wet in the winter and extremely dry during the summer, a season the bladderpod endures as a seed.  The White bladderpod was listed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services as endangered since March 11, 1987 (Volume 52 Federal Register 7426).  Threats to the white bladderpod include grazing, invasive exotic plants, and herbicide spraying.  There are less than 10,000 individuals left in 5 unprotected populations.  These existing populations need protection against present and future threats.  Also, new populations need to be established and managed to prevent complete extinction.  Unfortunately, there are currently no recovery plans underway.  Thus, the future of this native Texas plant species, the white bladderpod, looks bleak. 
 
 

Uses:

The fine oil contained in the pods ("bladderpods") of other Lesquerella species are being studied for potential industrial and cosmetic uses.  The Lesquerella seed contains a oil rich in hydroxy fatty acids (HFA), an important raw material used by industry for making resins, waxes, nylons, plastics, corrosion inhibitors, coatings, lubricating greases and cosmetics.  The oil from most species of Lesquerella found in the western U.S. contains lesquerolic acid as the predominate HFA.  The molecular structure of this HFA is similar to ricinoleic acid of castor oil.  Essentially all castor oil production in the U.S. has been eliminated by a combination of economic factors, excessive allergenic reactions of field and processing workers, and toxicity of the seed meal.  Lesquerella could serve as a partial replacement for imported castor oil, along with other possibilities from the hydroxy fatty acids.  Commercialization interests are presently focused on Lesquerella fendleri because of its growth and high yield characteristics.      
 
 

References:
 
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/nature/endag/wbladder.htm
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1993/V2-362.html#LESQUERELLA
http://www.csdl.tamu.edu/FLORA/cgi/edemics_map_page2?fam=Brassicaceae
http://gopher.mobot.org/CPC/lesquerl.html

 
Links:   

Seminar Web Page
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Flora of Texas Consortium

Last updated on April 20, 1998 by Amy Rasberry.