10 



latter sites have heavier, more poorly drained 

 soils that are clayey in texture. The noteworthy 

 exceptions to these observations are at the French 

 Creek and Lockhart Meadows sites. At French 

 Creek, var. f lava occurs in some areas on steeper 

 slopes (up to 10%) , and var. lanceolata grows 

 directly adjacent to it in a few small open areas. 

 At Lockhart Meadows, the two varieties coexist in 

 a slightly higher area near the west end of the 

 site. Otherwise, the varieties do not overlap 

 significantly at any of the known locations. 



TOPOGRAPHY: In Montana, populations of C. 

 lanceolata var. flava are found in level to gently 

 sloping areas that vary from zero to approximately 

 ten percent slope. It was found on all aspects. 

 Although found throughout the meadows and swales 

 where it occurs, C. lanceolata var. flava is 

 particularly abundant in depressions in these 

 habitats, especially at the Hebgen Lake (004) 

 site. 



The known sites in Montana range from 1980 m. 

 (6500 ft.) to 2500 m. (8200 ft.) in elevation. 



SOIL RELATIONSHIPS: In Montana, the areas 

 occupied by C. lanceolata var. flava are generally 

 comprised of heavy clay loam soils. These soils 

 are poorly drained, owing to the clayey soil 

 textures and gentle topography of the sites. 

 Also, snow accumulation is deep, and snowmelt is 

 often relatively late, in these high meadows. 

 This results in soil saturation through the early 

 growing season. 



Claytonia lanceolata var. flava does not appear to 

 be restricted to soils derived from specific 

 parent materials. The rock types associated with 

 the sites range from volcanic to sedimentary in 

 origin (Veseth and Montagne 1980) . The Lockhart 

 Meadows (001) site is in an area of Udic/Ustic- 

 Frigid/Cryic Inceptisols (moderately sloping soils 

 on mountains) ; the French Creek (002) site is in 

 an area of Ustic-Cryic Mollisols (nearly level to 

 steep soils on fans, benches, and terraces) ; the 

 Vipond Park (003) site is in an area of 

 Udic/Ustic-Frigid/Cryic Mollisols-Inceptisols- 

 Alfisols (gently sloping soils on mountains) ; the 

 Hebgen Lake (004) site is in an area of Udic- 

 Frigid/Cryic Inceptisols-Entisols (nearly level 

 soils on outwash terraces) ; and the Burton Park 

 (005) site is in an area of Udic-Cryic 

 Inceptisols-Alf isols (moderately sloping soils on 

 mountains) (Montagne et al. 1982) . 



