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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Vascular Plant Inventory of Selected Alpine Areas in Yellowstone National Park Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/GRYN/NRTR—2012/651 ON THE COVER Arnica rydbergii near Snowshoe Pass, Yellowstone National Park Photograph by: Jennifer Whipple, Yellowstone National Park Vascular Plant Inventory of Selected Alpine Areas in Yellowstone National Park Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/GRYN/NRTR—2012/651 Author Jennifer Whipple National Park Service Yellowstone National Park P.O. Box 168 Yellowstone, WY 82190 Editor Nina Chambers Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative P.O. Box 2705 Jackson, WY 83001 December 2012 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Technical Report Series is used to disseminate results of scientific studies in the physical, biological, and social sciences for both the advancement of science and the achievement of the National Park Service mission. The series provides contributors with a forum for displaying comprehensive data that are often deleted from journals because of page limitations. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received formal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data, and whose background and expertise put them on par technically and scientifically with the authors of the information. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This report is available from the Greater Yellowstone Network website (http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/gryn/), the Natural Resource Publications Management website (http://www.nature.nps.gov/publications/nrpm/), and the Integration of Natural Resource Management Applications website (https://irma.nps.gov/). Please cite this publication as: Whipple, J. 2012. Vascular plant inventory of selected alpine areas in Yellowstone National Park. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/GRYN/NRTR—2012/651. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 101/118316, December 2012 ii Contents Page Figures............................................................................................................................................ iv Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... vi Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Methods........................................................................................................................................... 3 Results ........................................................................................................................................... 10 Discussion ..................................................................................................................................... 24 References ..................................................................................................................................... 25 Appendix A: List of Specimens Collected During the 2003, 2004, and 2005 Field Seasons on the Gallatin Range in Yellowstone National Park ..................................................... 26 Appendix B: Alpine and Tree Line Vascular Plant Species List in Yellowstone National Park ................................................................................................................................ 33 iii Figures Page Figure 1. Map of Yellowstone National Park showing the study area for the Alpine Plant Inventory. ............................................................................................................................... 2 Figure 2. Mary Hektner and Heidi Anderson examining plants above Fawn Pass. ...................... 4 Figure 3. Alpine plant survey routes for the Fawn Pass, Quadrant Mountain, and Bannock Peak areas in Yellowstone National Park. ....................................................................... 5 Figure 4. Alpine plant survey routes for Sportsman Lake and Joseph Peak in Yellowstone National Park. ............................................................................................................ 6 Figure 5. Alpine plant survey routes for Trilobite Point and Antler Peak in Yellowstone National Park. ............................................................................................................ 7 Figure 6. Alpine plant survey routes at Cutoff Mountain in Yellowstone National Park. ................................................................................................................................................ 8 Figure 7. Anemone tetonensis in Bannock Mountain cirque. ...................................................... 11 Figure 8. Antennaria monocephala on Cutoff Peak. ................................................................... 12 Figure 9. Claytonia megarhiza on Cutoff Mountain. ................................................................... 13 Figure 10. Draba crassa on Cutoff Mountain. ............................................................................ 14 Figure 11. Draba globosa on Antler Peak. .................................................................................. 15 Figure 12. Draba sp. on Cutoff Mountain. .................................................................................. 16 Figure 13. Red mound on top of Quadrant Mountain, habitat of Draba sp................................. 17 Figure 14. Draba sp. on Quadrant Mountain. .............................................................................. 17 Figure 15. Antler Peak summit area, habitat of Erigeron radicatus, Oxytropis deflexa var. foliolosa, Minuartia austromontana, and Draba globosa. .................................................... 18 Figure 16. Minuartia austromontana on Trilobite Point. ............................................................ 19 Figure 17. Oxytropis deflexa var. foliolosa on Trilobite Ridge. .................................................. 20 Figure 18. Bannock Peak cirque, habitat of Parnassia kotzebuei. ............................................... 21 Figure 19. Ranunculus pygmaeus on Cutoff Mountain. .............................................................. 22 iv Abstract High-elevation areas in the Gallatin Mountains and on Cutoff Mountain were investigated (2003- 2005) for previously unreported park flora species. Ten new taxa were located: Anemone tetonensis; Antennaria monocephala; Claytonia megarhiza; Draba crassa; Draba globosa; Erigeron radicatus; Minuartia austromontana; Oxytropis deflexa var. foliolosa; Parnassia kotzebuei; and Ranunculus pygmaeus. The exact determination of two Draba specimens, one collected at Cutoff Mountain and another at Quadrant Mountain, is still ongoing with some of the Draba specimens sent to the Missouri Botanical Garden to be annotated by Dr. Ihsan Al- Shehbaz. Additionally, Achnatherum pinetorum was confirmed to occur in the southern Gallatin Range. v Acknowledgments This project was partially funded through the NPS Greater Yellowstone Network Inventory Program. The author would like to thank the NPS inventory steering committee, Rick Lasko, Mason Reid, Ann Rodman, and Kathy Tonnessen for their help conducting the inventory workshop that identified the need for an alpine plant inventory in Yellowstone National Park. The author would also like to thank Cathie Jean and Lane Cameron from the Greater Yellowstone Network for their help on planning the vascular plant inventory. Gallatin National Forest rangers were immensely helpful with the corral operation and fire cache, especially Wally Wines, Dave Elwood, Monty Simenson, Brian Helms, Bonnie Gafney, and Wendy Hafer. The field crews that scrambled here and there included Heidi Anderson, Ken Aho, Vicki Pecha, Elizabeth Crowe, Cheryl Jaworowski, and John David Sacklin. Finally, Mary Hektner was a tower of strength in shepherding the logistics through the years. vi Introduction One of the goals of the Inventory and Monitoring program of the National Park Service is to have at least a ninety-percent knowledge of the vascular plants of each park unit. The knowledge of the vascular plant flora of Yellowstone National Park is extensive with collections dating back to 1870, but most of the collecting has been focused on areas easily