Ethnobotanv 



The name "Sweetgrass Hills" refers to the native grass species with 

 that common name r Hierochloe odorata ) , according to local residents 

 (McDermott pers. commun.)- This grass was widely used in ceremonies 

 and as purifying fragrance by Indian peoples inhabiting what is now 

 Montana (Hart 1991) . This grass species was observed in low numbers 

 at only three West Butte locations near the butte base along 

 watercourses or meadow margins (Heidel #1019 MONTU) . A report of it 

 growing on private property beyond the butte areas was not 

 investigated. The sweetgrass observed near West Butte was relatively 

 vigorous for this species, its flowering stem growing relatively tall 

 (ca. 4 dm.)/ perhaps increasing its cultural value. It is very 

 limited in its present extent, so either this grass as namesake was an 

 uncommon butte species of exceptional value, was once common in the 

 butte areas but has declined with land uses changes, or was primarily 

 outside the butte areas in the intervening plains. 



There was no attempt to catalogue potential plant uses in the 

 Sweetgrass Hills, but a copy of the flora has been compared against 

 available tabulations of plants having traditional plant uses 

 (Kooistra-Manning et al. 1993) at the request of BLM (Appendix 3). It 

 was observed that local native plants had notable sweetness and 

 tenderness, including Astragalus crassicarpus fruits, Clavtonia 

 lanceolata leaves, and Lomatium cous tubers. There has been no 

 published research of area ethnobotany. 



