yellowish, 0.3-0.4 mm long, oval. Achene dark brown, shiny, 

 2.5-3 mm long, the large globose base tapering to a long, 

 stout, 3-angled beak (Ode 1987; based on Reveal 1971). 



3. Diagnostic characteristics: The only other sympatric 

 annual Eriogonum that occurs in similar habitats as E. visheri 

 is E. gordonii which has whitish, glabrous flowers, while 

 those of E. visheri are yellowish and hispid. In addition, 

 all of the peduncles of E. gordonii are peduncled while all of 

 the involucres are sessile in E. visheri . Superficially, 

 Polygonum ramosissimum might be mistaken for E. visheri 

 because of its similar profile and because it commonly occurs 

 in similar habitats (from Ode 1987). 



B. Present legal or other formal status 



1. Federal 



A. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Listed as a 

 Category 2 species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

 (1994). This category indicates that the taxa may be 

 appropriate for formal listing as a threatened or 

 endangered species but that adequate information on the 

 taxon's true endangerment status may be lacking or 

 incomplete. A status report has been prepared for this 

 species in South Dakota (Ode 1987) recommending Category 

 3C status. 



B. U.S. Forest Service: Designated as sensitive by the 

 USDA Forest Service Region 1 (USDA Forest Service 1994) . 



C. Bureau of Land Management: proposed watch 



2. State: In South Dakota, this regionally endemic species 

 has a state rank of "S3," indicating that it is vulnerable 

 (Ode 1992) . 



C. Geographical distribution 



1. Species range: This species is endemic to North and South 

 Dakota. It is concentrated in a six-county area of North and 

 South Dakota (Corson, Meade, Perkins and Ziebach counties, SD; 

 Grant and Sioux counties, ND) , with populations in four 

 additional western South Dakota counties (Harding, Pennington, 

 Jackson and Mellette cos., SD) , and five other western North 

 Dakota counties (Billings, Golden Valley, McKenzie, Mountrail, 

 and Slope cos.; Ode 1987, North Dakota Natural Heritage 

 Inventory 1993, Vanderpool 1993, North Dakota Natural Heritage 

 Inventory data, South Dakota Natural Heritage Program data) . 

 The next page shows its distribution as mapped seven years ago 

 (Ode 1987) , with new county records that have been added 

 since. 



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