studies of these ta>3, by J.S. Shelly and P. Lesica, ere not yet 

 ccnpleted, and a positive identification cannot te irade at this tirre. 

 Upon ccnpletion of these studies, the Montana Natural Heritage Rnogram 

 v;ill update the Bureau of Land t>^anagement as to the identification of 

 these plants. The taxon is ccmrron on East and Vfest Buttes in grassland 

 habitats, and no imrediate threats are apparent. 



3.1.3 Hali'molobos virgata (?) ( Tv;iggy halimolobos ) 



Plant specimens tentatively identified as tv;iggy halimolobos 

 \ l-\l^' "" ( Halimolobos virgata ) v/ere collected near a rock outcrop en foothills 

 north of Mount Brcs-n in the East Butte area. The specimens depart from 



A^ 



the published species descriptions, in having pubescent siliques and 

 shorter petals. Specimens are beirg sent to the New— York— Botanic 



:'xt^ i'i^>^^'.'Jv.w '\ 



1 ' V / 



Garden- for verification. Shelly (pers. ccnrn. , Etecenber, 1989) also \- ,,■ 



collected specimens tentatively identified as Halimolobos from the Bull _ \ 



River in northwestern Montana. If correctly identified, these 

 collections represent new state records for Montana. Twiggy 

 halimolcixs is previously documented frcm open prairies to la.',er 

 mountains, ficm Yukon to Aiberta and Saskatche;-ran, south to eastern 

 Idaho, Wycming, Utah and Colorado (Hitchcock and Cronquist 1973). 



3.2 SPECIES LIST 



Thcrpson and Kuijt (1976b) prepared a comprehensive species list for 



the S\seat Grass Hills during their investigations in 1972-1975. 



