B. 



gentian, Gentiana af finis has plicate fringes between the 

 lobes of the corolla compared to Gentianella amarella which 

 has no fringes. It also has a larger flower of 2-3 cm (.79- 

 1.2 in) vs. 0.8-1.5 cm (.31-. 59 in); and a deep blue-purple 

 flower color vs. a pale blue, white, or greenish color. 



Present legal or other formal status 



1. Federal 



U. 



Fish and Wildlife Service: 



none 



B. 



U.S. Forest Service: 



none 



C. Bureau of Land Management: none 



2. State: In South Dakota, the state rank 

 (imperiled) based on 6-20 widely scattered records. 



is "S2" 



Geographical distribution 



1. Species range: British Columbia to Saskatchewan, south to 

 California, western South Dakota and along mountains to 

 Colorado and Arizona. 



2. South Dakota distribution: Black Hills and northern South 

 Dakota (Houtcooper et al . 1985). This area represents the 

 southeastern edge of the range for the species. 



3 . Occurrence in the study 

 area: Northern gentian was 

 collected in 1910 from "Cave 

 Hills". It is likely that the 

 North Cave Hills has more 

 suitable habitat, but there is 

 no indication whether the 

 collection was from the North 

 or South Cave Hills. 



It is not known from the 

 Montana side of the District or 

 eastern Montana in general, 

 though it does occur in western 

 and central Montana (Dorn 

 1984) . 



D. Habitat 



1. Associated vegetation: The 

 historical collection from the 

 area did not include 

 information on associated 



76 



