Aquileqia brevistyla 



I. SPECIES INFORMATION 



A. CLASSIFICATION 



1. SCIENTIFIC NAME: AcmJlegia brevistyla Hook. 



2. COMMON NAME: Small-flowered columbine 



3. FAMILY: Ranunculaceae (Buttercup family) 



4. GENUS: According to Hitchcock and Cronquist 

 (1964) , there are nearly 70 species of Aquileqia . 

 They are distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and 

 are mostly montane. 



5. SPECIES: Aquileqia brevistyla is a far 

 northwestern species, occurring in Alaska and 

 extending across northern British Columbia and 

 Alberta to Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota. 



B. PRESENT LEGAL OR OTHER FORMAL STATUS 



1. FEDERAL STATUS 



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

 brevistyla 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: Aquileqia brevistyla is 

 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: Aquileqia brevistyla is currently listed by 

 the Montana Natural Heritage Program (Shelly 1989) 

 as "critically imperiled in the state" (state rank 

 = SI) . This state rank does not currently provide 

 any direct legal protection for A. brevistyla . 

 Through its inclusion on the Region 1 sensitive 

 plant list, the taxon has legal protection under 

 U.S. Forest Service agency policies (W. Ruediger, 

 pers. comm. ) . 



C. DESCRIPTION . 



1. GENERAL NONTECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Aquileqia 



brevistyla is a slender perennial herb with few 

 branches. Plants have a cluster of leaves from the 



