Physaria bellii
(Bell's twinpod, Front Range twinpod)
Physaria belii grow in low, dense rosettes of thick green leaves surrounded by clusters of yellow-tubular flowers.
The plants are usually widely separated from each other and scattered over rocky ground.
P. bellii is rare. It grows only in Colorado, along the Front Range in Jefferson, Boulder and Larimer Counties. And even within that range it's habitat is restricted.
You'll find the plant on outcrops of shale and sometimes sandstone in a handful of geologic formations: the Niobrarra, Pierre, Lykins and Fountain. It chooses outcrops that are between 1,580 and 1,760 meters high and prefers to live on parts of the outcrops that slope. Why slopes? One theory is that slopes keep the competition at bay. Slopes slide and slides rip away plants. If P. belli can hang on better than the competition, it rules the slopes.
Front Range twinpod flowers in early spring: April and May. The flowers have four lobed petals that are fused at the base.
They average about 5 or 6 mm long.
The petals are surrounded by yellowish-green sepals.
The flowers are bunched together in racemes along stems that are spread out and sometimes lie on the ground.
The leaves at the base and the leaves on the stem (cauline leaves) are the same color (grayish green) but have different shapes.
The basal leaves grow in a rosette and they're broad (obovate) and slightly toothed. They look a bit squared off.
The leaves on the stems are 1 or 2 cm long, narrower (oblanceolate) and the edges are smooth.
