PLANT of the MONTH   ~~   NOVEMBER 2009
updated on or about the 1st of each month

Bladderpod Common Name(s): Bladderpod, Burro Fat Scientific Name: Isomeris arborea Family: Capparaceae, Caper family Plant Type: perennial shrub Size: shrub up to 6 feet high Common Habitat: scrub, washes, bluffs, hillsides, and occasionally oak woodlands, from the coast to desert edges

Bladderpod is one of the few plants in our mountains that blooms nearly year-round. Its bright yellow showy flowers are about a half-inch to an inch in diameter, with 4 petals and 6 stamens. The flowers are attractive to hummingbirds, bees and butterflies, and the plant also provides some shelter for various birds and insects. The distinctive seedpod for which the plant is named is up to 2 inches long with a swollen, drooping appearance and pointed tip. The pod is about the same blue-green color as the leaves at first but as it ages it becomes more tanned and sometimes a bit transparent. Bladderpod's narrow leaves are oblong with pointed tips, about half an inch to an inch long and form in leaflets of 3. The stems are woody. The plant has a pungent odor that most describe as unpleasant.

It has been suggested that Bladderpod is a fire retardant plant and will not burn over an open flame. Once established it is also very drought tolerant.

The genus name Isomeris means divided into equal parts, referring to the seed pod. The species name arborea refers to the plant's tree-like appearance.

Contributed by Liz Baumann

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REFERENCES:
Wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains, by Milt McAuley
Flowering Plants: The Santa Monica Mountains, Coastal and Chaparral Regions of Southern California, by Nancy Dale
Roadside Plants of Southern California, by Thomas J. Belzer
California Native Plants for the Garden, by Carol Bornstein, David Fross, and Bart O'Brien
California Herbal Remedies, by LoLo Westrich