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Parry's Locoweed - Oxytropis parryi
State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
DRAFT: Requesting feedback on the 2026 revised rank, factors, and State Rank Reason outlined below and in the Conservation Status Rank Report.
Oxytropis parryi is very rare in the state, being known from only 2 populations, one in the Snowcrest Range and one from the Lima Peaks/Red Conglomerate Mountains. It occurs in remote, alpine habitat. Neither occurrence has been surveyed since the specimen collections were made in 1992 and 2006.
Both occurrences should be resurveyed to document the population sizes and extent. Surveys of potentially suitable habitat in southwest Montana may locate additional populations.
General Description
Parry's Crazyweed is a low perennial herb with 1-4 leafless stems that are 2-7 cm high and arising from a branched rootcrown. The basal, pinnately compound leaves have 9-19 narrowly elliptic, pointed leaflets that are 3-10 mm long. Membranous appendages, or stipules, are attached to the base of the long petioles. The foliage is covered with long, silky hairs. 1-3 sessile, pea-like, purple flowers are clustered at the tip of the stem. The upper petal of each flower is 7-10 mm long, bent forward, and barely longer than the lateral (wing) petals. The united lower petals, or keel, are shorter and have a prolonged point at their tip. The black-hairy calyx has 5 narrow lobes and is 3/4 the length of the corolla. The ascending, narrowly egg-shaped pods are 15-23 mm long, covered with appressed black hairs, and have a short, pointed beak.
Phenology
Fruiting in mid-August.
Diagnostic Characteristics
Oxytropis podocarpa and O. campestris var. cusickii may also have as few as 2-3 fruits per stem, but the former has inflated pods, while the latter has light yellow flowers.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Southeast MT and WY to NM, west to the mountains of central ID, NV, and CA.
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 3
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)
Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Habitat
Gravelly, calcareous soil on exposed ridgetops in the alpine zone.
National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species
Alpine
Alpine - Vegetated
Grassland
Montane - Subalpine Grassland
Ecology
POLLINATORS The following animal species have been reported as pollinators of this plant species or its genus where their geographic ranges overlap:
Bombus appositus,
Bombus bifarius,
Bombus centralis,
Bombus fervidus,
Bombus flavifrons,
Bombus melanopygus,
Bombus nevadensis,
Bombus rufocinctus,
Bombus sylvicola,
Bombus occidentalis,
Bombus insularis, and
Bombus kirbiellus (Macior 1974, Bauer 1983, Shaw and Taylor 1986, Williams et al. 2014, Miller-Struttmann and Galen 2014).
Stewardship Responsibility
Threats or Limiting Factors
STATE THREAT SCORE REASON
Threat impact not assigned because threats are not known (MTNHP Threat Assessment 2021).
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication- Bauer, P.J. 1983. Bumblebee pollination relationships on the Beartooth Plateau tundra of Southern Montana. American Journal of Botany. 70(1): 134-144.
Macior, L.M. 1974. Pollination ecology of the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Melanderia 15: 1-59.- Miller-Struttmann, N.E. and C. Galen. 2014. High-altitude multi-taskers: bumble bee food plant use broadens along an altitudinal productivity gradient. Oecologia 176:1033-1045.
- MTNHP Threat Assessment. 2021. State Threat Score Assignment and Assessment of Reported Threats from 2006 to 2021 for State-listed Vascular Plants. Botany Program, Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, Montana.
- Shaw, D.C. and R.J. Taylor.1986. Pollination ecology of an alpine fell-field community in the North Cascades. Northwest Science 60:21-31.
- Williams, P., R. Thorp, L. Richardson, and S. Colla. 2014. Bumble Bees of North America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 208 p.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Aho, Ken Andrew. 2006. Alpine and Cliff Ecosystems in the North-Central Rocky Mountains. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 343 p.
- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
- Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
- Lesica, P., P. Husby, and S. V. Cooper. 1998. Noteworthy collections: Montana. Madrono 45:328-330.
- Web Search Engines for Articles on "Parry's Locoweed"
