19 



Douglas (1981), this species is quite common in 

 California, and populations range from 3,940 ft. 

 (1200 m) to 11,300 ft. (3450 m) in elevation. 



3. SOIL RELATIONSHIPS: Mimulus primuloides appears 

 to be restricted to sites with poorly drained 

 soils which have a water table (at or just below 

 the soil surface) in early June, such as seeps and 

 peatlands. The plant may not be associated with a 

 specific substrate. At least one site. Rock 

 Island Lakes (008) , occurs in an area underlain by 

 granitic bedrock. 



4. REGIONAL CLIMATE: Mimulus primuloides occurs in a 

 region of Montana that is generally dominated by 

 dry, continental weather conditions. Much of the 

 yearly precipitation falls as rain or wet snow in 

 May and June, with large convective storms 

 providing the mid- and late summer moisture. 

 Winters are cold and dry, with precipitation 

 occurring mostly in the form of snow. The nearest 

 long term climatological station to the Mimulus 

 primuloides populations is at Wisdom (6,060 ft 

 (1850 m) ) . The station is approximately 11 miles 

 west and 2,700 ft (820 m) lower then the 

 populations in the vicinity of Odell Lake, and 24 

 miles east and 1,200 ft (370 m) lower then the 

 population at Lost Trail Bog (004) . This 

 elevation difference is important because one 

 could expect that the M. primuloides populations 

 could potentially receive 20 inches (50.8 cm) more 

 precipitation than the mean value given for the 

 station (Bob Bump, BLM, Dillon, Montana, pers. 

 comm.). The mean annual temperature at Wisdom for 

 the time period 1951-1980 was 35.1° F. The mean 

 maximum temperature for July was 78.2° F, while 

 the mean minimum temperature for January was 1.3° 

 F. Mean annual precipitation was 11.44 in (29.51 

 cm) (U.S. Department of Commerce 1982). 



P. POPULATION DEMOGRAPHY AND BIOLOGY 



1. PHENOLOGY: A perennial species, M. primuloides is 

 in flower during the latter part of July and early 

 August in Montana, and begins producing fruits by 

 August. During vegetative reproduction, according 

 to Douglas (1981) , a rhizome and its terminal bud 

 develop during one growing season, overwinter, 

 produce a shoot and daughter rhizome (s) the 

 following summer, and die. Seedlings were not 

 observed in Montana populations, and reproduction 



