Cleomella arborea

Bladderpod

Family: Cleomaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Bladderpod is a California native shrub found in dry, open landscapes at elevations of 100 to 1,000 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces bright yellow flowers with petals 8 to 14 millimeters long arranged in racemes up to 30 centimeters long. Growing 1.5 to 2 meters tall with multiple branches and minutely hairy stems, it develops a densely branched structure. Its leaves are compound with three leaflets, each 15 to 45 millimeters long in an oblong-elliptic shape, creating a delicate green texture. The fruit is a distinctive inflated capsule 3 to 6 centimeters long, light brown and leathery, which becomes tardily dehiscent when mature.

California counties: Riverside, San Bernardino, Kern, Ventura, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, Orange, Inyo, San Benito, Tulare, Fresno

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.