stipules 3-5 mm long, eventually lacerate; flowers 

 1-4 in the axils or all but the lowermost leaves, 

 in slender, open racemes, soon reflexed, the 

 pedicels 1-2 mm long; perianth 1.75-2.5 mm long, 

 connate for about h. the length, the segments 5, 

 greenish with whitish or pink-tinged margins; 

 stamens 5-8; styles 3, distinct, barely . 5 mm 

 long; achene triquetrous, black, nearly smooth, 

 shining, 2-3 mm long, ovate in outline but tapered 

 to both ends (adapted from Hitchcock and Cronquist 

 1964) . 



3. LOCAL FIELD CHARACTERS: Polygonum douqlasii ssp. 

 austinae (Figure 17) is not morphologically 

 different from P. douqlasii ssp. douqlasii but no 

 single character is diagnostic. When possible a 

 suite of characters should be used to define the 

 two entities. The lower leaves of ssp. austinae 

 are the most distinctive characteristic. They are 

 ovate or elliptic to broadly oblanceolate, usually 

 5-15 mm long and ^-Va as broad, while the lower 

 leaves of ssp. douqlasii are linear to narrowly 

 oblong (sometimes more nearly lanceolate or 

 oblanceolate) , 1-6 mm long and rarely as much as 

 1/5 as broad. The basally many-branched form of 

 ssp. austinae contrasts with the typically single- 

 stemmed or sparsely-branched form of ssp. 

 douqlasii . The perianth of ssp. austinae is 

 slightly shorter (1.5-2.5 mm long) than that of 

 ssp. douqlasii (3-3.5 mm long). The achenes of 

 ssp. austinae are smaller (2-2.5 mm long) and 

 broader (generally less than twice as long as 

 broad) than those of ssp. douqlasii which are 

 larger (>2.5 mm long) and narrower (at least twice 

 as long as broad) . 



Dorn (1984) easily separates Polygonum douqlasii 

 from the other species in the genus by its erect 

 habit, loose axillary inflorescences, leaves with 

 jointed bases, and recurved or reflexed pedicels. 



GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION 



1. RANGE: According to Hitchcock and Cronquist (1964) , 

 Polygonum douqlasii ssp. austinae ranges from 

 central Oregon to northeast California, east 

 across southern Idaho to south-central Montana and 

 Wyoming, and is reported for eastern British 

 Columbia. In Montana it is widely scattered in 

 the western part of the state, and is known from 

 eight sites in four counties: Broadwater, Lewis & 

 Clark, Madison, and Pondera (Fig. 19, next page) . 



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