B. 



after the flowers have fallen. The flowers are bright blue, 

 tending to be purplish near the base, fading to light blue, 

 and have glabrous anthers. It closely resembles P. nitidus 

 except for the narrow leaves and the large anther sacs which 

 are 1.1-1.5 mm (.04-. 06 in) vs. 0.7-1.2 mm (.028-. 047 in; from 

 Great Plains Flora Association 1986) . 



Present legal or other formal status 



1. Federal 



A. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: none 



B. 



U.S. Forest Service: none 



C. Bureau of Land Management: none 



2. State: This species had a state rank of "SI" critically 

 imperiled since it had been known from four locations 

 statewide. As a result of this study, its rank is being 

 reassigned as "S2" with the discovery of six additional 

 occurrences in Carter County. 



Geographical distribution 



1. Species range: North 

 Dakota to eastern Montana, 

 south to northwest Arizona to 

 Oklahoma. 



2. Montana distribution: 

 Narrowleaf penstemon is known 

 from Carter and Dawson County 

 in easternmost Montana. In 

 addition, there is a putative 

 specimen from Missoula County 

 which warrants review and 

 annotation/verification. 



3 . Occurrence in the study 

 area: It occurs in both the 

 Ekalaka Hills and the Long 

 Pines. its potential habitat 

 was not thoroughly searched. 

 It was also found in the Slim 

 Buttes and South Cave Hills of 

 South Dakota. 



1231. Penstemon angustifotius Nutt. 

 ssp. angustifolius 



Narrow Beardtongue 



Habitat 



1. Associated Vegetation: The species typically occurs in 

 open or deflated areas on moderate slopes with sparse 



37 



