E. lackschewjtzii is not compared with E. 

 ochroleucus in the published literature but 

 would be distinguished in the Hitchcock and 

 Cronquist key in having multicellular hairs on the 

 involucre, i.e. a trichome with crosswalls. 

 Examination of E. ochroleucus specimens indicates 

 presence of crosswalls, contradicting the keys 

 (Kerstetter pers. commun., Lesica pers. commun.). 



Similarly, both have basal leaves which are 

 linear and with an enlarged membranous base, 

 contradicting the keys. 



E. lackschewitzii is consistently pinkish blue, 

 while E. ochroleucus ranges in color from bluish 

 purple to pink and to white. Likewise, the disk 

 corolla length and the involucre bract length 

 are usually different, with the dimensions of the 

 E. lackschewitzii feature circumscribed in the 

 wider range of £. ochroleucus features 

 (Kerstetter pers. commun.). See Appendix A for 

 a photograph of the two species growing side by 

 side. 



S. lackschewitzii is distinguished from 

 £. radicatus in having cauline leaves, larger 

 disk corolla (2.8-4.3 vs. 2.3-3.0) and more pappus 

 bristles (10-20 vs. 6-12); (from Hitchcock and 

 Cronquist key) 



D. Identifying characteristics of material which is in 

 interstate or international commerce or trade: 

 None. 



E. Photographs and line drawings: 



Appendix A provides a copy of the technical 

 illustration of Erigeron lackschewitzii ^ along with 

 close-ups and habitat photographs. 



4. Significance. 



A. Natural: The community and landscape role of 

 Erigeron lackschewitzii warrants investigation. 

 Circumstantial evidence in its morphology and 

 distribution pattern indicate that it may be 

 uniquely suited to the alpine "wind community". 



B. Human: Erigeron lackschewitzii is among the few 

 endemic alpine species in Montana, its narrow 

 distribution and habitat overlapping with that of 

 another endemic, Cardamine rupicola . Erigeron 

 lackschewitzii has fidelity to a narrow range of 



