b. U.S. FOREST SERVICE: Astragalus molybdenus 

 is currently included on the U.S. Forest 

 Service list of sensitive species for Region 

 1 (U.S. Department of Agriculture 1988). 

 Objectives and policy of the U.S. Forest 

 Service provide for the management and 

 protection of sensitive species under 

 sections 2670,22 and 2670.32 in the 1984 

 Forest Service Manual. Under these 

 guidelines, the Forest Service is to (a) 

 "maintain viable populations of all native 

 species of plants" (2670.22), and (b) "avoid 

 or minimize impacts to species whose 

 viability has been identified as a concern" 

 (2670.32.3) . 



2. STATE: Astragalus molybdenus has been listed as 

 "rare" by the Montana Rare Plant Project (Lesica 

 et al . 1984). This category includes "those 

 species which are limited to a restricted 

 geographic range... in Montana." Globally, 

 Astragalus molybdenus is currently listed by the 

 Montana Natural Heritage Program (Shelly 1990) as 

 "very rare" (21-100 occurrences; global rank = 

 G3) . It is listed as "critically imperiled in 

 Montana because of extreme rarity" (state rank = 

 SI) . These ranks do not currently provide any 

 direct legal protection for A. molybdenus . 



DESCRIPTION 



1. GENERAL NONTECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: A member of the 

 Pea Family (Fabaceae) , Astragalus molybdenus is a 

 low-growing, loosely mattjfed plant, with prostrate 

 to upright stems. Leaves are borne alternately 

 along the stems, and each compound leaf consists 

 of 9-25 oval leaflets. Plants may bear 1-6 small 

 (0.5 inch) purple, or occasionally whitish, pea- 

 type flowers. Fused green sepals (outer floral 

 leaves) surround each flower, and are covered with 

 long, black hairs. The fruit is a small, 

 pendulous, curved pod (adapted from Reel et al . 

 1989) . See Section VII, pp. 38-46, for color 

 photos of plants and habitat. 



2. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Low, loosely tufted or 

 matted perennial, with a slender taproot and 

 loosely, sometimes extensively branching 

 subterranean stems persisting as rhizome-like 

 caudex-branches (sometimes adventitiously rooting 

 and thus vegetatively reproductive) , the stems 

 with fine, nearly straight, appressed and 



