State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
Five collections at MONTU, from Beaverhead, Madison, Park counties. Doubtlessly undercollected due to the extremely prickly stems. Not rare at least in Beaverhead County. Grows at high elevations, mostly on talus slopes and other places that are probably secure.
Stems sprawling to ascending, 30–70 cm, spiny at the nodes, bristly between. Twigs puberulent, tan, becoming gray. Leaf blades 1–4 cm wide, cordate, 5-lobed, deeply toothed, pubescent and glandular on both sides. Inflorescence drooping, 3- to 6-flowered. Flowers saucer-shaped, 3–5 mm long, green to pink, glandular-hairy; calyx lobes broadly ovate, 2–3 mm long; petals pink to red, 1–1.5 mm long; stamens longer than petals; style united more than half way, glabrous. Berry 5–9 mm long, red, bristly-glandular, palatable (
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
POLLINATORS The following animal species have been reported as pollinators of this plant species or its genus where their geographic ranges overlap:
Bombus vagans,
Bombus bifarius,
Bombus centralis,
Bombus fervidus,
Bombus flavifrons,
Bombus huntii,
Bombus melanopygus,
Bombus mixtus,
Bombus nevadensis,
Bombus terricola,
Bombus sitkensis,
Bombus occidentalis,
Bombus pensylvanicus,
Bombus bimaculatus,
Bombus impatiens,
Bombus insularis, and
Bombus flavidus (Plath 1934, Thorp et al. 1983, Colla and Dumesh 2010, Koch et al. 2012, Williams et al. 2014).