Dedicated in June 2007, Rockcress Hills State Nature Preserve is 65 acres located in Franklin County. The preserve consists of steep wooded ravines and bluffs along the Kentucky River and its tributaries. The site protects globe bladderpod (Lesquerella globosa), a species that is a candidate for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act. Globe bladderpod is a diminutive plant that is covered with dense hairs that give its leaves a gray-green appearance. The small flowers have beautiful spoon-shaped petals that are displayed from April to early June. The name of the plant is derived from the globe-shaped fruit it produces. This species is restriced to the Kentucky River drainage within the Bluegrass Region. The site also contains high-quality occurrences of one of the Commonwealth’s rarest plants, Braun’s rockcress (Arabis perstellata), which was listed as an endangered species under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1995.
Access for scientific study is by written permission only.