Kevin Fitch, associate professor of biology at Motlow State Community College, recently provided consultation services to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for the habitat characterization of the Federally Protected plant, Short’s Bladderpod (Physaria globosa).
Professor Fitch provided plant-ecology expertise to the USFWS in support of a cooperative project with Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. These efforts support the goals for the U.S. Endangered Species Act and its objectives: to designate the critical-habitat for Short’s Bladderpod which is required for its recovery.
Short’s Bladderpod is a plant in the mustard family and is found in middle Tennessee in specific habitat. It grows up to 20 inches tall. Clusters of small yellow flowers top single and sometimes multiple stems from April to early June. It typically grows on steep, rocky, wooded slopes and along tops, bases, and ledges of bluffs, often near rivers or streams and on south-to-west-facing slopes.
More information can be found at: http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/plants/shortsbladderpod/index.html.
Motlow State’s Kevin Fitch provides expertise to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
