on foot and lists were made of all vascular plant species 

 which could be identified. Specimens were collected of taxa 

 which could not be reliably identified in the field; the first 

 set of these will be deposited at the herbarium at Montana 

 State University (MONT) . The floras used most often to key 

 out plants were Dorn (1984) and Hitchcock and Cronquist 

 (1973) . Nomenclature in this report generally follows Dorn. 



The historical site of P. lemhiensis in section 23 was 

 intensely searched for flowering plants; vegetative plants 

 were not recognized or searched for. Population sites of P. 

 lemhiensis outside of the study area nearby along the Bloody 

 Dick Creek road were also relocated when possible and briefly 

 surveyed. 



RESULTS 



A total of 151 species of vascular plants were identified 

 (Appendix B) . No sensitive species were found in the study 

 area, although populations of Eriogonum ovalifolium var. 

 nevadense and Penstemon lemhiensis were located nearby. The 

 known site of a P. lemhiensis subpopulation in the study area 

 could not be relocated, nor could the subpopulation just to 

 the north in section 14 on Beaverhead National Forest. It 

 cannot be determined at this time whether Penstemon 

 lemhienesis is extirpated or nonf lowering in the study area. 



The P. lemhiensis populations which were found outside 

 the study area included two relocated occurrences (records #29 

 and #41) along Bloody Dick Creek, in addition to a possible 

 new location. The number of flowering individuals was lower 

 than last reported (1989 and 1990) for both known 

 subpopulations and only two of the four subpopulations 

 reported for #29 in 1989 could be relocated. 



It is noted that populations of Penstemon lemhiensis 

 elsewhere in Beaverhead County which were monitored also had 

 very few flowering plants in 1993. This may explain the 

 apparent disappearance of the population on BLM land in 

 section 23. It is not known if this population is extirpated, 

 or if it consisted of only vegetative plants in 1993. This 

 species should be watched for in the future at this site and 

 in other sagebrush habitats on these lands, all of which 

 appear to be potential habitat. The possible new occurrence 

 consisted of a single plant found just outside the study area 

 on private land in section 24. This plant was found, then 

 lost before it could be positively identified. It was in 

 fruit, at a more mature stage than plants in the other 

 populations. The reason it is thought to be P. lemhiensis is 

 that no other species of Penstemon known from the area are as 

 large. The plant was growing on a south facing slope in a 



