32 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Glandular-hairy annual, 1-3 dm (4-12^ 

 in) tall, branched from the base and commonly without a 

 well-def inined central axis, the several stems prostrate to 

 ascending; leaves 1-9 cm (.4-3.5 in) long (short petiole 

 included) and 0.5-2.5 cm (.2-1 cm) wide, pinnatilobate to 

 more often pinnatifid, with mostly narrow rachis and 

 sessile, generally few-toothed segments or leaflets, the 

 upper ones confluent; inf loresences densely flov/ered even at 

 maturity, up to 10 cm (4 in) long in fruit; corolla about 

 equalling the calyx, 3-4 mm (.12-. 16 in) long and 2-3 mm 

 (.08-. 12 in) wide, lavender or whitish; calyx segments 

 lance-elliptic, strongly accrescent in fruit, becoming 6-3 

 mm (.24-. 31 in) long, 2-3 mm (.08-. 12 in) wide, firm and 

 prominently veiny; style 1.5-2 mm (.06-. 08 in) long, cleft 

 to the middle or beyond; ovules 4; seeds 4 or fewer, 2-2.5 

 mm (.08-.1 in) long, lanceolate, with ventral keel and 

 rounded back, prominently pitted-reticulate . 



LOCAL FIELD CHARACTERS: Hot spring phacelia is the only 

 annual phacelia with pinnately lobed or divided leaves in 

 central or eastern Montana except for Threadleaf phacelia 

 ( Phacelia linearis ) . It is easily distinguished from 

 Threadleaf phacelia in being multi-stemmed rather than 

 single-stemmed, with relatively broad leaves rather than 

 linear leaves, and petals ca. equal sepals in length rather 

 than showy petals that exceed the calyx. It bears 

 superficial resemblance to annual species in different 

 genera of the Waterleaf Family, but the phacelia genus has a 

 multi-flowered infloresence rather than solitary flowers. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 



1. RANGE: Hot spring phacelia occurs from southeast Oregon to 

 northern Californa and east to southern Idaho, highly 

 disjunct in central Montana (Fergus, Garfield and Phillips 

 counties) . 



2. CURRENT SITES: All Montana records are recent (Fergus, 

 Garfield and Phillips counties) . At the Garfield County 

 site (^002) only one plant was found and collected. It is 

 possible but improbable that this single plant made up the 

 full extent of the population. As a relatively short-lived 

 species, population numbers and point-locations within any 

 given site may not be stable over time. 



3. HISTORICAL SITES: None. 



4. UNVERIFIED/UNDOCUMENTED REPORTS: None. 



