I 



numerous linear callosities leading into the 

 sac; column 6-9 mm. long; anther 4-5 mm. long; 

 capsule reflexed, 2-3.5 cm. long (adapted from 

 Hitchcock et al . , 1964). 



3. LOCAL FIELD CHARACTERS: Epipactis qiqantea is 



distinguished by its tall leafy stems and numerous- 

 flowered racemes. However, the reddish-green flowers 

 blend in with background vegetation and are not 

 easily noticed. Except for E. helleborine . no other 

 species resembles E. qiqantea . 



As stated above, E. helleborine has escaped from 

 cultivation and become established in Montana in 

 Lewis and Clark County. It is distinguished from E. 

 qiqantea by its smaller flowers, and a smaller, 

 unlobed lip. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 



1. RANGE: Epipactis qiqantea is widely distributed from 

 British Columbia south to Baja California, east to 

 the Rocky Mountains and south to Mexico (Brunton, 

 1986) . However, populations within this large area 

 are sparse. Within Region 1 of the U.S. Forest 

 Service, it has been located on the Flathead National 

 Forest in Montana. A distribution map for E. 

 qiqantea within Montana is in Figure 1, p. 4. 



2. CURRENT SITES (MONTANA): The 1988 field surveys in 

 Montana revealed five previously unknown occurrences 

 for E. qiqantea . This brings the total number of 

 recently documented sites in Montana to ten. Six 

 populations are recorded from Lake County, two from 

 Flathead County, one from Carbon County, and one from 

 Granite County. The legal descriptions, latitude and 

 longitude, elevations, USGS topographic map names, 

 and locations of sites in Montana are provided in 

 Table 1, pp. 5-6. This table is broken down into 

 sections; Table lA contains those sites that occur 

 wholly or partially on U.S. Forest Service lands, and 

 Table IB contains sites that occur on lands of other 

 ownership. Complete Element Occurrence records on 

 these sites are found in Section IV, pp. 19-29. 

 Also, the exact locations are indicated on the maps 

 provided in Section IV, pp. 30-36. Field surveys 

 were conducted in 1984 by Peter Lesica (The Nature 

 Conservancy) and by the author on 5-14 July 1988. 



Throughout this report, the three-digit occurrence 

 numbers are indicated in parentheses after the site 



