17 



has had recent floristic survey work. Erwin Evert has 

 thoroughly surveyed the Absaroka Range in the drainage 

 of the North Fork of the Shoshone River. Rob 

 Kirkpatrick has surveyed the Absaroka Range from the 

 North Fork of the Shoshone River south to the Owl Creek 

 Range (M.S. Thesis, Department of Botany, University of 

 Wyoming, Laramie). The Big Horn Mountains have been 

 studied by B.E. Nelson and Ron Hartman (Nelson and 

 Hartman 198^). Because of their location on the Wind 

 River Indian Reservation (Arapaho and Shoshone tribes), 

 the Owl Creek Mountains have not been thoroughly 

 searched. In addition, the northeast corner of the Big 

 Horn Mountains of Wyoming have not been surveyed as 

 intensively as the rest of the range, and may harbor 

 undiscovered populations (B.E. Nelson, Rocky Mountain 

 Herbarium, University of Wyoming, personal 

 communication) . 



b. Montana: There are two or three areas in the Big Horn 

 Mountains in Big Horn County, on the Crow Indian 

 Ressrvation, where Shoshonea might be expected to 

 occur. These areas were not investigated, as the 

 authors were denied access to the reservation by the 

 Crow Tribal Council (Appendix A, p. 36). Also, Sheep 

 Mountain, just south of Luther on the north side of the 

 Beartooth Mountains (T7S R19E Sec 6), was not surveyed. 

 Shoshonea might be expected to occur there; however, 

 suitable sites both east and west of Sheep Mountain 

 were searched without success. 



5. Reports having ambiguous or incomplete locality information: 

 None known. 



6. Locations known or suspected to be erroneous reports: None. 



C. Biogeographical and phylogenetic history: Unknown. Shoshonea 

 shares morphological charcteristics with many genera of North 

 American Apiaceae, but the relationships are not clear (Evert and 

 Constance 1982). Shoshonea pulvinata is one of several species 

 endemic to calcareous soils in the area of the northern Big Horn 

 Basin. Other such species include Pensteman caryi , Eriqeron 

 allocotus, and Erioqonum laqopus . 



6. General environment and habitat description. 



A. Concise statement of general environment and habitat: Shoshonea 

 pulvinata is restricted to shallow, stoney, calcareous soils 

 associated with exposed limestone outcrops, ridgetops and talus 

 slopes. The vegetation of Shoshonea sites is sparse and 

 dominated by low herbaceous plants, many of which are also mat- 

 forming. In Montana, Shoshonea occurs at elevations ranging from 

 6,800-7,800 feet. At this elevation the dominant zonal 

 vegetation is Douglas fir ( Pseudotsuqa menziesii ) forest. 

 Shoshonea often occurs in windblast areas on the edges of these 



