relatively small at 0.7-1.2 mm (.03-. 05 in) long vs. 1.1-1.5 

 mm (.04-. 06 in) long (from Great Plains Flora Association 

 1986) . 



Penstemon nitidus is closely allied with and has a more 

 western distribution than P. anqustifolius . It has been 

 suggested that where the ranges of these two species overlap 

 in eastern Montana, western South Dakota and western North 

 Dakota, "monographic treatment will necessitate the treatment 

 of these several taxa as geographic races of a single species, 

 under the binomial P. anqustifolius Pursh" (Hitchcock et al. 

 1984) . More extensive collecting in this range of overlap, and 

 review of materials by FNA author Noel Holmgren is 

 recommended . 



B. 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: In South Dakota, the state rank for Shiny 

 penstemon is "SU" (status undetermined) based on three 

 collection records prior to the two new Slim Butte records; 

 and the incompleteness of survey work in its habitat. 



Geographical distribution 



1. Species range: Southern 

 Manitoba to British Columbia, 

 Wyoming and northwestern South 

 Dakota. 



2. South Dakota distribution: 

 This species is restricted to 

 northwestern South Dakota. 



3 . Occurrence in the study 

 area: This species has been 

 documented from opposite ends 

 of the Slim Buttes, and from 

 the Chalk Buttes. 



Habitat 



1. Associated vegetation: 

 The plant community is an early 

 successional phase of 



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