• 



rosettes are iteroparous, producing axillary inflorescences for 1-many years 

 before either dying or bolting and then dying. Others bolt once and are 

 essentially semelparous. Individuals may branch at the root crown to form 

 multi-rosette plants at any time during the life cycle. This is not 

 vegetative reproduction as individual rosettes from multi-rosette plants never 

 become independent plants. If only a portion of the rosettes in a multiple- 

 rosette plant bolt, the whole plant may or may not die. 



Study Sites 



We conducted our study at Charleys Gulch in Ravalli County and Lime 

 Gulch and Vipond Park in Beaverhead County, Montana. The Charleys Gulch site 

 is on a moderate southwest-facing slope, at 1525 m. At Hamilton, ca. 8 km 

 southwest and 300 m lower, mean temperatures for July and January are 19.4° 

 and -3.8° C respectively, and mean annual precipitation is 32 cm. Vegetation 

 surrounding the sites is foothills Aqropyron - Festuca grasslands with scattered 

 Pinus ponderosa Dougl. and Pseudotsuqa menziesii (Mirb. ) Franco. The Lime 

 Gulch site occurs on moderate east- and west-facing slopes above a small 

 drainage on the east side of the Pioneer Range at ca 1890 m. The Vipond Park 

 site is on a moderate south-facing slope at 2195 m at the north end of the 

 Pioneer Range. The two sites are separated from each other by ca. 32 km and 

 from the Ravalli County site by ca. 130 km. For Divide, at 1675 m and north 

 and east of the two sites, mean temperatures for July and January are 17.2° 

 and -7.2° C respectively, and mean annual precipitation is 31 cm. Vipond Park 

 is appreciably higher than the recording station, and thus likely experiences 

 colder temperatures and greater precipitation. Vegetation around Lime Gulch 

 is Juniperus / Cercocarpus woodland, while it is Artemisia - Festuca - Aqropyron 

 steppe at Vipond Park. 



Soils at all sites are highly calcareous sandy loams derived from 

 outcrops of metamorphosed calc-silicates or limestone. These soils have a 

 tendency to slump on moderate to steep slopes. Vegetation at these sites is 



