SPECIES OF SPECIAL CONCERN 

 Delphinium andersonii 



I. SPECIES INFORMATION 



A. CLASSIFICATION 



1. SCIENTIFIC NAME: Delphinium andersonii Gray 



2. COMMON NAME: Anderson's larkspur, desert larkspur 



3. FAMILY; Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family) 



4. GENUS: There are about 200 species of Delphinium 



worldwide (Hitchcock and Cronquist 1964) , with 79 

 species recognized in North America (Ewan 1945) . 

 Nine species are found in Montana (Dorn 1984) , one 

 of which is non-native. 



5. SPECIES: Delphinium andersonii is distinguished 



from other species in Montana by its thick, 

 branching, woody root system; flared sepals; 

 glabrous, dissected leaves; and whitish upper 

 petals with blue tips (Dorn 1984). 



B. PRESENT LEGAL OR OTHER FORMAL STATUS 



1. FEDERAL STATUS 



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



b. U.S. FOREST SERVICE: Delphinium andersonii is 



designated as Watch by the Forest Service. 

 It was given this status because it was 

 suspected to occur on Forest Service land, 

 but had not been found. Now that D. 

 andersonii has been discovered on the Helena 

 National Forest, it should be redesignated as 

 Sensitive. 



2. STATE: Delphinium andersonii is categorized as 



state Sensitive in Lesica and Shelly (1991a) . The 

 Montana Natural Heritage Program (Achuff 1991) 

 ranks the species as G5S1, that is secure globally 

 but critically imperiled in Montana. None of the 

 above state categories or ranks provide any legal 

 protection for Delphinium andersonii . 



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