Review of past status: No 



previous history of legal or formal 

 status. 



C. State 



1. Montana 



a. Present designated or proposed 

 legal protection or regulation: 



None. 



b. Other current formal status 

 recommendations: The species is 

 currently listed as "critically 

 imperiled in Montana" (state rank = 

 SI) by the Montana Natural Heritage 

 Program (Shelly 1990) . 



c. Review of past status: No previous 

 history of legal or formal status. 



3. Description 



A. General nontechnical description: Lesquerella 

 humilis is a small, perennial herb with stems 

 which are mostly about 1-2 inches tall. They lie 

 flat on the soil surface, with the flower-bearing 

 tips curved slightly upward. The flowers are 

 yellow, with only three to six or so produced near 

 the end of each stem. The petals are about 0.3 

 inches long. The basal leaves are clustered 

 together at the top of the taproot, and are about 

 0.6 to 1 inch long. The stem leaves are smaller, 

 being about h inch long. The plants are generally 

 in flower from late June to early July, with 

 variation depending on exposure and weather 

 conditions. Fruiting occurs from July into early 

 August. 



B. Technical description: Perennial, densely 

 pubescent and silvery from an encrustment of 

 stellate trichomes; primary branches 5-6, free to 

 base to slightly fused at center, forked or 3- 

 branched, trichomes with 16-25 free ends, 

 appressed on upper leaf surface, less appressed to 

 somewhat flaring on lower leaf surface; caudex 

 usually simple, thick, covered with old leaf- 

 bases; stems prostrate, simple, one or two to 

 several, arising below and among a terminal 

 rosette of leaves, 2-5 cm (0.8-2.0 in.) long; 



