Physaria ludoviciana

Physaria ludoviciana habit.

Physaria ludoviciana is a taprooted perennial, growing 6-16 inches tall.[4] The flowers have four sepals and four yellow petals and six stamens.[5] The leaves are simple, narrow, and covered with stellate-pilose hairs. The basal leaves are produced in a rosette. The two loculed fruits are a globe-like silicle with dense pilose hairs.[5] Flowering occurs in early spring to mid/late summer, and some plants are polyploids.[6]

It is an endangered species in Illinois and Minnesota, and a threatened species in Wisconsin.[7] In all three states this species is outside of its main range which is more western, growing in the dry plains.[5] The Minnesota populations are found around Red Wing in Goodhue County;[6] they are 500 kilometers from the species main range in the west and it is speculated it was introduction there by the long-range dispersal of a single seed or they are remnants from when the environment was drier and the species had a greater natural range. [5] The Minnesota plants are found in dry prairie on south-facing bluffs in sandy soil originating from weathered limestone; the populations are threatened by the encroachment of woody and invasive species due to human suppression of fires.[5]

Physaria ludoviciana is avoided by grazing animals.[6]