CAPER FAMILY 



( Capparidacece) 



Much like the Mustard Family, but the stamens, 6 or more, 

 are all equal, and the seed pods frequently on long stalks. The 

 European Capparis spinosa, whose buds furnish the capers of 

 our dinner tables, is of this family. 



BLADDERPOD (Isdmeris arbdrea, Nutt.). Flowers showy, 

 dull yellow, with protruding stamens, borne in terminal, 

 bracted racemes. Leaves thrice-divided, the divisions nar- 

 row. 



The Bladderpod is a shrub from 3 to 10 feet high, with 

 hard, yellow wood and an exceedingly characteristic, disagree- 

 able smell in leaf and blossom a sort of skunk among flowers, 

 whose beauty is best enjoyed at long range. It is a Southern 

 Californian and at home alike on the fog-drenched bluffs of the 

 seashore and the arid sands of the desert. An interesting 

 character of the Bladderpod is the feature that is responsible 

 for the common name the large, leathery, much inflated 

 seed vessels, like fat pea pods which droop gracefully on long 

 stalks and are very decorative. 



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