16 



^. REGIONAL CLIMATE: The climate of west-central 

 Montana can generally be classified as cool, dry, 

 and continental, with locally greater amounts of 

 precipitation in the mountains. For the 

 distributional area of L. klausii , the nearest 

 cl imatological stations include Holter Dam (1063 

 m. (3^87 ft.)) and White Sulphur Springs (1659 m. 

 (5^A^0 ft.), precipitation only). Data for the 

 period 1951-1980 are provided by the U.S. 

 Department of Commerce (1982). At Holter Dam, the 

 mean annual precipitation was 30.53 cm. (12,02 

 in.); the mean annual temperature was 8.5<'C 

 (^7.3''F), and the mean July maximum temperature 

 was 29.30c (8^.7<»F). At White Sulphur Springs, 

 the mean annual precipitation was 39.88 cm. (15.7 

 in. ) . 



POPULATION DEMOGRAPHY AND BIOLOGY 



1. PHENOLOGY: Lesquerella klausii has been found in 

 bloom from early May to early July, depending upon 

 climatic conditions and elevation. Peak flowering 

 at most sites is in late May and early June. A 

 few flowering individuals have been found in 

 September and October, during warm autumn periods, 

 but this flowering most likely does not result in 

 any substantial additional seed set. Fruiting 

 extends primarily from mid-May to July. 



2. POPULATION SIZE AND CONDITION: Populations of L. 

 klausi i range in size from fewer than 20 to 3000 

 or more individuals; these populations contain 

 from one to nine subpopulat ions. The average 

 population size is approximately 650. The total 

 number of plants observed to date is approximately 

 17000-18000. 



Details regarding population size and condition 

 are summarized in Table 2, pp. 17-20. 



3. REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY 



a. TYPE OF REPRODUCTION: The flowers of L. 

 klausi i are chasmogamous (they have a 

 conspicuous corolla, and open normally for 

 pollination and fertilization). Self- 

 incompatibility is widespread in the genus, 

 though self-compatibility is also present in 

 at least some species. Most populations of 

 Lesquerella are in open habitats, with the 

 plants aggregated together. Undoubtedly, 

 cross-pollination is the norm for the genus 

 as a whole (Rollins and Shaw, 1973). Fruit 

 set in L. klausi i during peak periods 



