I. SPECIES INFORMATION 



A. CLASSIFICATION 



1. SCIENTIFIC NAME: Orchis rotundifolia Banks ex 

 Pursh (Dorn 1984) . 



2. SYNONYMS: Amerorchis rotundifolia (Banks) Hulten; 

 Habenaria rotundifolia (Banks) Rich, in Frank. ; O. 

 rotundifolia var. lineata Mousley. 



3. COMMON NAME: Round-leaved Orchis. 



4. FAMILY: Orchidaceae (Orchid family). 



5. GENUS: According to Hitchcock et al. (1969), the 

 genus Orchis contains over 80 species, chiefly in 

 temperate to cooler areas of the Old World. 



6. SPECIES: According to Hitchcock et al. (1969), 

 Orchis consists of three or four species in North 

 America. It is the only member of the genus in 

 Montana (Dorn 1984). In 1968, Eric Hulten created 

 the monotypic genus Amerorchis to accomodate O. 

 rotundifolia (Luer 1975) . This treatment is 

 followed by Luer, and by Williams and Williams 

 (1983) . In agreeing with this taxonomic outline, 

 Luer (197 5) concludes that, in fact, no true 

 representatives of the genus Orchis occur in North 

 America. Orchis is used here in order to match 

 the nomenclature in the readily available state 

 and regional floras (Hitchcock et al. 1969; Dorn 

 1984), which are most likely to be used by U.S. 

 Forest Service personnel and others. 



B. PRESENT LEGAL OR OTHER FORMAL STATUS 

 1. FEDERAL STATUS 



a. U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE: None. 



b. U.S. FOREST SERVICE: Orchis rotundifolia is 

 currently included on the list of sensitive 

 plant species for Region 1 (Northern Region) 

 of the U.S. Forest Service. Agency 

 objectives and policy in the 1984 Forest 

 Service Manual provide for the management and 

 protection of sensitive species (Section 

 2670.32). Under these guidelines, the U.S. 

 Forest Service is to "(a) void or minimize 

 impacts to species whose viability has been 

 identified as a concern" (2670.32.3). 



