blue, and had barely exserted stamens. All other 

 characters for this specimen fit the description 

 for A. f lavescens . A photograph of a putative 

 hybrid plant is included in Section VI, p. 47. 



Although A. f lavescens was not observed near the 

 South Fork Judith River (Oil) population, specimen 

 446-1 had blue sepals and barely exserted stamens, 

 characters that best fit the description of A. 

 brevistyla . However, it also had long and wide 

 sepals, and a long style, characters associated 

 with A, f lavescens . Due to the mix of characters, 

 this specimen was also scored as an intermediate. 



Other puzzling collections include those from 

 Haymaker Canyon on the southeast side of the 

 Little Belt Mountains. When these two specimens 

 were collected, both were yellow in color. One of 

 the two (449-2) dried to blue, and the stamens on 

 this specimen were also barely exserted; 

 characters associated with A. brevistyla . All the 

 other characters for both specimens however better 

 fit the matrix for A. f lavescens . No blue 

 Aquileqia were observed nearby. 



In light of this situation, a chromosome count and 

 electrophoretic analysis would be of use in 

 discerning the status of these questionable 

 populations. 



Asexual reproduction is virtually non-existent in 

 the wild, but in cultivation, root division is 

 possible (Munz 1946) . 



b. POLLINATION BIOLOGY: Not known. 



c. SEED DISPERSAL AND BIOLOGY: Under 

 cultivation, species in the genus Aquileqia 

 do well in light sandy soil, and may be 

 seeded in early spring or summer. Most 

 species in the genus appear to live only 3-4 

 years under cultivation, although this time 

 period may be further prolonged by prevention 

 of seed production (Munz 1946) . 



Seed appears to disperse by wind in August or 

 September when the follicles dry and dehisce. 



d. FIRE ECOLOGY: A fire swept through the Sage 

 Creek drainage in the fall of 1990. A 

 portion of the A. brevistyla population (Sage 

 Creek (003)) was in an area that burned. 



