Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Montia diffusa
Introductory
SPECIES: Montia diffusa
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Matthews, Robin F. 1993. Montia diffusa. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service,
Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer).
Available: http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ [].
ABBREVIATION :
MONDIF
SYNONYMS :
Claytonia diffusa Nutt. [4,5,7]
SCS PLANT CODE :
MODI3
COMMON NAMES :
branching montia
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name of branching montia is Montia
diffusa (Nutt.) E. Greene (Portulacaceae). There are no recognized
subspecies, varieties, or forms [4,7,11].
LIFE FORM :
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
The Nature Conservancy ranks branching montia as rare and/or local
globally (G3) and imperiled to critically imperiled (S1S2) in the state
of Washington [12].
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Montia diffusa
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Branching montia is distributed primarily west of the Cascade-Sierra
Nevada crest from British Columbia to northwestern California [4,7,11].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES24 Hemlock - Sitka spruce
FRES27 Redwood
STATES :
CA OR WA BC
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
3 Southern Pacific Border
4 Sierra Mountains
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K001 Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
K002 Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
K006 Redwood forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
229 Pacific Douglas-fir
230 Douglas-fir - western hemlock
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Montia diffusa
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
NO-ENTRY
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Montia diffusa
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Branching montia is an annual forb diffusely branched from the base with
erect stems 2 to 6 inches (5-15 cm) tall. The basal and cauline leaves
are alike and are 0.8 to 2 inches (2-5 cm) long. The inflorescence is a
terminal panicle. Capsules have one to three seeds that are
approximately 0.06 inch (0.15 cm) long [4,7].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Therophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
NO-ENTRY
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Branching montia is found on moist sites [4,7]. In California it most
often occurs in woodlands and coniferous forests below 3,280 feet (1,000
m) elevation [7].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Branching montia flowers from May to July [7].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Montia diffusa
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Information regarding the ecological adaptations of branching montia for
survival following fire is not available in the literature.
Miner's-lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata), a closely related species,
colonizes sites following fire by long-lived seeds that are stored in
the soil. Miner's-lettuce also mass-flowers in the first postfire
years, allowing for secondary colonization by on-site seed [9].
Branching montia often occurs in burned or otherwise disturbed
confierous forests [11], and may have similar postfire reproductive
patterns.
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Montia diffusa
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
NO-ENTRY
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
NO-ENTRY
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Montia diffusa
REFERENCES :
1. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals,
reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's
associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p.
[434]
2. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
3. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
4. Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1973. Flora of the Pacific
Northwest. Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press. 730 p. [1168]
5. Kartesz, John T.; Kartesz, Rosemarie. 1980. A synonymized checklist of
the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Volume
II: The biota of North America. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North
Carolina Press; in confederation with Anne H. Lindsey and C. Richie
Bell, North Carolina Botanical Garden. 500 p. [6954]
6. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
7. Munz, Philip A. 1973. A California flora and supplement. Berkeley, CA:
University of California Press. 1905 p. [6155]
8. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
9. Stickney, Peter F. 1993. Effects of fire on upland forests in the
Northern Rocky Mountains. Unpublished paper on file at: U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire
Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT: 3 p. [21627]
10. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
11. Hickman, James C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: Higher plants of
California. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 1400 p.
[21992]
12. Washington Natural Heritage Program, compiler. 1994. Endangered,
threatened, and sensitive vascular plants of Washington. Olympia, WA:
Department of Natural Resources. 52 p. [25413]
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