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Eriqeron formosissimus 



SPECIES INFORMATION 



A. CLASSIFICATION 



1. SCIENTIFIC NAME: Eriqeron formosissimus Greene 



2. COMMON NAME: Beautiful daisy 



3. FAMILY: Asteraceae (Sunflower family) 



4. GENUS: According to Cronquist (1955), there are 

 approximately 200 species of Eriqeron . 130 of which 

 are centered in the western Cordillera of North 

 America north of Mexico. 



5. SPECIES: Eriqeron formosissimus is a southern 

 Rocky Mountain species of meadows and open places 

 in the mountains, often found at high elevations. 

 Two varieties (viscidus and formosissimus ) are 

 recognized, their ranges being nearly concurrent 

 (Cronquist 1955) . 



B. PRESENT LEGAL OR OTHER FORMAL STATUS 



1. FEDERAL STATUS 



a. U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE: Eriqeron 

 formosissimus is not currently listed in the 

 U.S.F.W.S. Notice of Review (U.S. Department 

 of Interior 1985) . 



b. U.S. FOREST SERVICE: Eriqeron formosissimus 

 is not currently included on the list of 

 sensitive species for Region 1 (Northern 

 Region) of the U.S. Forest Service (U.S. 

 Department of Agriculture 1988) . 



2. STATE: Eriqeron formosissimus is currently listed 

 by the Montana Natural Heritage Program (Shelly 

 1989) as "critically imperiled in the state" (state 

 rank = SI) . It is listed as a "vascular plant of 

 rare status" by the Montana Rare Plant Project 

 (Lesica et al. 1984), indicating that the species 

 is either "limited to a restricted geographic 

 range" or "occurs sparsely over a wider area in 

 Montana." These state ranks do not currently 

 provide any direct legal protection for Eriqeron 

 formosissimus. 



