season. The achene characteristics of the two species differ in 

 that R. cardiophyllus has a finely puberulent achene with a 

 straight beak, while R. pedatif idus has a glabrous achene with a 

 curved beak. The technical characteristics described in Dorn 

 (1984) which distinguish R. cardiophyllus from R. pedatif idus is 

 the glabrate nectary scale of R. cardiophyllus as opposed to the 

 ciliate nectary scale of R. cardiophyllus . 



D. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 



1. RANGE: Ranunculus pedatif idus is a circumpolar species that 

 extends across much of Canada south to the 55th parallel, with 

 disjunct occurrence in the Cypress Hills (Scoggan 1978) . It is 

 in Wyoming and Colorado of the Rocky Mountains; and is very 

 sporadic in Montana, New Mexico and Arizona (Hitchcock et al. 

 1964) . 



2. CURRENT SITES: In Montana, Ranunculus pedatif idus is known from 

 three sites in three counties: 



EG no. Location 



001 Flathead Co., Columbia Falls 



002 Glacier Co., Glacier National Park 



003 Toole Co., Sweetgrass Hills, West Butte 



3. HISTORICAL SITES: The Flathead County record from the Columbia 

 Falls vicinity is based on an 1894 collection which cannot be 

 relocated with precision and is likely to have been extirpated. 



4. UNVERIFIED/ UNDOCUMENTED REPORTS: A Ranunculus specimen collected 

 by Klaus Lackschewitz from Deerlodge National Forest in the 

 Anaconda-Pintlar Range (Granite Co.) in 1993 is pending review 

 which may represent Ranunculus pedatif idus (Lackschewitz pers. 



- commun.). If this is the case, it represents a major range 

 extension. 



5. AREAS SURVEYED BUT SPECIES NOT LOCATED: Perched marsh habitat 

 occupied by Ranunculus pedatif idus is very similar to that of R. 

 cardiophyllus in the Sweetgrass Hills except that the setting for 

 R. pedatif idus had no association with a watercourse. In effect, 

 the surveys that were conducted for R. cardiophyllus rule out R. 

 pedatif idus in these watercourse settings. There were no other 

 similar marsh swale settings found on either East or West Buttes. 



E. HABITAT 



1. ASSOCIATED VEGETATION: Nonnative grasses seeded in for hay have 

 taken over the tiny wetland basin occupied by Ranunculus 



