Hedvsarum sulphurescens . . . sulphur hedysarum 



Juniperus communis common juniper 



Kobresia bellardii Bellard's alpinesedge 



Oxvtropis podocarpa stalked-pod crazyweed 



Oxytropis viscida sticky locoweed 



Poa qravana Gray ' s bluegrass 



Polemonium pulcherrimum . . . skunk-leaved polemonium 



Potentilla fruticosa shrubby cinquefoil 



Potentilla diversifolia . . . diverse-leaved cinquefoil 



Salix nivalis snow willow 



Saxifraqa bronchialis spotted saxifrage 



Sibbaldia procumbens creeping sibbaldia 



Smelowskia calycina alpine smelowskia 



Ziqadenus eleqans glaucous zigadenus 



Of these, Oxytropis podocarpa and Erigeron 

 lackschewitzii are included on the U.S. Forest 

 Service, Region 1, sensitive plant and watch 

 lists, respectively. 



2. TOPOGRAPHY: In Montana, populations of A. 

 molvbdenus occur at or above the krummholz zone in 

 areas where snow deposition occurs. These sites 

 range from nearly level, to steep slopes (0-35%). 

 Most sites in Montana have a north or northwest 

 aspect; however, populations do occur on south- or 

 east-facing slopes. The sites range from 7,263 to 

 8,120 feet in elevation. 



In Colorado, recently surveyed A. molybdenus 

 populations occur from 11,900 to 12,500 feet in 

 elevation; it has been collected as high as 13,000 

 feet. As in Montana, these locations are above 

 treeline, in alpine forb fcommunities (Tamara 

 Naumann, pers. comm.). 



In Wyoming, A. shultziorum occurs at elevations 

 from 8,800 to 10,500 feet, with most habitat 

 occurring between 9,000 and 10,000 feet. 

 Astragalus shultziorum appears to be restricted to 

 subalpine sites, only occasionally reaching into 

 the lowermost alpine zone (Marriott 1990) . 



3. SOIL RELATIONSHIPS: The Montana populations of A. 

 molybdenus appear to be restricted to largely 

 stabilized, limestone scree slopes. This scree is 

 derived from limestone parent material of 

 Mississippian or Devonian origin (Mudge et al . 

 1983) . However, populations occasionally occur 

 where scree is unstable, as at Our Lake (002). 

 Populations were more often found in alpine forb 

 communities, especially in Dryas octopetala mats. 



