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		Silky Scorpion-weed - Phacelia sericea
		
		
		
		
Native Species
			Global Rank: 
G5
			State Rank: 
S4
			
				C-value: 
5
			
			
			
			Agency Status
			USFWS: 
			USFS: 
			BLM: 
		
			
			
				
			
			
				External Links
				
			
		 
	 
	
	 
		General Description
		Perennial, often with a branched caudex. Stems ascending to erect, usually simple, 10–45 cm. Herbage strigose to sericeous. Leaves mostly basal; the blade 2–8 cm long, lanceolate to ovate, deeply pinnately lobed into linear to oblanceolate, entire to lobed segments. Inflorescence a densely flowered, compound, terminal cyme. Flowers: calyx hispid 3–5 mm long; corolla campanulate, purple, pubescent, 5–8 mm long, lobes 2–4 mm long; stamens >2 times as long as corolla; style exserted, divided <1/2-way. Seeds several, reticulate (
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
Our plants are variety 
sericea.
 
		
	
	
	Species Range
	
		
			Montana Range
		Range Descriptions
			
			
			
					
						
						Native
					 
				
				
					
			 
			
		 
		
	 
	
    		Range Comments
			BC, AB south to CA and CO (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
			
		
		Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
		Number of Observations: 114
		
		
(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
		Talus slopes, fellfields, rock outcrops, grasslands, open forest, stream banks, roadsides; montane to alpine (
Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).
 
		
		
	
		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 frigidus, 
Bombus huntii, 
Bombus melanopygus, 
Bombus mixtus, 
Bombus nevadensis, 
Bombus rufocinctus, 
Bombus sylvicola, 
Bombus sitkensis, 
Bombus occidentalis, 
Bombus griseocollis, 
Bombus insularis, and 
Bombus kirbiellus (Macior 1974, Thorp et al. 1983, Shaw and Taylor 1986, Mayer et al. 2000, Wilson et al. 2010, Pyke et al. 2012, Koch et al. 2012, Williams et al. 2014).
 
		
	
		Stewardship Responsibility
		
		
	
	References
	
		
			- Literature Cited AboveLegend:  
 View Online Publication
Koch, J., J. Strange, and P. Williams. 2012. Bumble bees of the western United States. Washington, DC: USDA Forest Service, Pollinator Partnership. 143 p.
Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
Macior, L.M. 1974. Pollination ecology of the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Melanderia 15: 1-59.
Mayer, D.F., E.R. Miliczky, B.F. Finnigan, and C.A. Johnson. 2000. The bee fauna (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) of southeastern Washington. Journal of the Entomological Society of British Columbia 97: 25-31.
Pyke, G.H., D.W. Inouye, and J.D. Thomson. 2012. Local geographic distributions of bumble bees near Crested Butte, Colorado: competition and community structure revisited. Environmental Entomology 41(6): 1332-1349.
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.
Thorp, R.W., D.S. Horning, and L.L. Dunning. 1983. Bumble bees and cuckoo bumble bees of California (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Bulletin of the California Insect Survey 23:1-79.
Williams, P., R. Thorp, L. Richardson, and S. Colla. 2014. Bumble Bees of North America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 208 p.
Wilson, J.S., L.E. Wilson, L.D. Loftis, and T. Griswold. 2010. The montane bee fauna of north central Washington, USA, with floral associations. Western North American Naturalist 70(2): 198-207.
 
			- 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.
Ament, R.J. 1995. Pioneer Plant Communities Five Years After the 1988 Yellowstone Fires. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 216 p.
Culver, D.R. 1994. Floristic analysis of the Centennial Region, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman. 199 pp.
Hawkins, P.H. 1903. The alpine flora of Montana. M.Sc. Thesis, Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 24 pp.
Jones, W. W. 1901. Preliminary flora of Gallatin County. M.S. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State College. 78 pp.
Joslin, G.J. 1975. Behavior and environmental selection by Elk (Cervus canadensis nelsoni) during surrmer and fall in the First and Second Yellow Mule drainages, Madison County, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University, Bozeman. 65 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.
Martin, S.A. 1985. Ecology of the Rock Creek bighorn sheep herd, Beartooth Mountains, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 152 p.
Parks, J.C. 1986. Plant materials for use on disturbed alpine areas in Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 57 p.
Saunders, J.K. Jr. 1955. Food habits and range use of the Rocky Mountain goat in the Crazy Mountains, Montana. Journal of Wildlife Management 19(4):429-437.
Saunders, J.K., Jr. 1954. A two-year investigation of the food habits and range use of the Rocky Mountain goat in the Crazy Mountains, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 22 p.
Simanonok, M. 2018. Plant-pollinator network assembly after wildfire. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 123 p.
Simanonok, M.P. and L.A. Burkle. 2019. Nesting success of wood-cavity-nesting bees declines with increasing time since wildfire. Ecology and Evolution 9:12436-12445.
 
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