Montana Field Guide

Amelanchier humilis has not been documented in Montana (Lesica et al. 2012; Campbell et al. in Flora of North America [FNA] 2014; and MTNHP Status Review in 2019). In the Flora of the Great Plains Montana was listed in the distribution for Amelanchier humilis (McGregor et al. [eds.] 1986). This prompted the NRCS PLANTS database website to show it as native in Montana (http://plants.usda.gov, 22 October 2019). However, an extensive search for Montana specimens have found nothing. Montana specimens deposited at KANU have been identified by Robert Dorn as Amelanchier alnifolia (Caleb Morse personal communication). Amelanchier humilis is recognized in the Flora of North America, but Montana is not listed within its distribution (Campbell et al. in FNA 2014). Herbarium specimens from Fallon, Sheridan, Carbon, and Valley counties might fit the description of Amelanchier humilis, but identification from herbarium specimens is often inconclusive (Lesica et al. 2012). Accurate identifications are best done in the field during the flowering and fruiting seasons, and require observations of habitat, habit, presence of congeners, and flowering time relative to sympatric congeners (Campbell et al. in FNA 2014). A conservation status rank is not applicable (SNA) because this plant is not known to occur in Montana.