Introductory
SPECIES: Oxytropis campestris var. columbiana | Columbia River Crazyweed 



ABBREVIATION : 
OXYCAMC

SYNONYMS : 
   Oxytropis columbiana


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   OXCAC2


COMMON NAMES : 
   Columbia River crazyweed


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of Columbia River crazyweed is
Oxytropis campestris var. columbiana (St. John) Barneby.  The variety
has been recommended for elevation to species status [5].  As many as 10
varieties have been listed for O. campestris (yellow crazyweed), five of
which have been recommended for elevation to species status [5,8].


LIFE FORM : 
Forb

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
Montana Status:  threatened 
USFS Region 1 Status: MT - sensitive
Global Rank: GS - critically imperiled globally (5 or fewer occurrences)

The Nature Conservancy ranks Columbia River crazyweed as apparently
secure globally but critically imperiled in Montana [14] and Washington
[17].


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Tara Y. Williams, October 1990


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Williams, Tara Y. 1990. Oxytropis campestris var. columbiana. In: Remainder of Citation

DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Oxytropis campestris var. columbiana | Columbia River Crazyweed 



GENERAL DISTRIBUTION : 
Columbia River crazyweed is endemic to the Columbia River basin in
northeastern Washington but also occurs in northwestern Montana where it
is found in the Flathead Lake region and along the North Fork of the
Flathead River (Glacier National Park) [10].

Occurrence in Glacier National Park:  Big Prairie along Inside Road, and
Lone Pine Prairie along Mud Creek [10].

The species, Oxytropis campestris, is more or less circumboreal; montane
to submontane in the Pacific Northwest.  It occurs transcontinentally in
Canada, south in the Rocky Mountains to Colorado and west to the Olympic
Mountains [7].


ECOSYSTEMS : 
   FRES36  Mountain grasslands
   FRES37  Mountain meadows


STATES : 
     MT  WA


ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS : 
     GLAC


BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS : 
   8  Northern Rocky Mountains


KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS : 
   K050  Fescue - wheatgrass
   K051  Wheatgrass - bluegrass
   K063  Foothills prairie


SAF COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES : 
NO-ENTRY


HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES : 
NO-ENTRY

VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Oxytropis campestris var. columbiana | Columbia River Crazyweed 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Oxytropis species often contain toxic alkaloids which cause "loco"
disease.  The species is moderately tolerant of grazing, but it is
generally avoided [15].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Yellow locoweed (Oxytropis campestris) has been recommended for use in
revegetation of subalpine sites.  At 2,350 feet (757 m) in Alaska,
containerized seedlings showed 80 percent and 100 percent survival after
one growing season with and without added topsoil [3].  The seed is
easily collected but requires a lengthy dormancy and has a low
germination rate (10%) [15].  Yellow locoweed is an excellent soil
builder and has high erosion control capabilities.  It fixes nitrogen
and is very competitive on preferred sites.  In northern areas
(Alberta), it is resistant to northern diseases [15].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Columbia River crazyweed is threatened by agriculutral, recreational,
residential, and dam development, and by invasion of woody species and
exotic weeds onto grasslands.

BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Oxytropis campestris var. columbiana | Columbia River Crazyweed 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Columbia River crazyweed is a native perennial forb with a heavy taproot
and branched rootstocks.  It has tufted basal leaves and grows 4 to 12
inches (10-30 cm) tall.  The odd-pinnate leaves are 3 to 8 inches (8-20
cm) long.  The flowers are zygomorphic and have a white corolla and a
strongly purple-spotted keel.  The pod is 0.5 to 1.5 inches (1-3 cm)
long.  There is a high root to shoot ratio [5,7,14,15].  The plant may
fix nitrogen, but this has not been reported in the literature [4].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Hemicryptophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Columbia River crazyweed reproduces by seed produced by pollination and
fertilization [15].  It is pollinated by bumblebee species with long
tongues.  No fruit was produced on flowers that were enclosed, but there
was 96 percent fruit set on flowers under open pollination [1].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Columbia River crazyweed grows on rocky, gravelly, open or partially
shaded areas in valleys.  It has been reported at 2,900 to 3,500 feet
(880-1,050 m) in northwestern Montana [14].  

Yellow locoweed (Oxytropis campestris) grows best in sandy loam to clay
loam soils.  It is tolerant of moderately saline soils and low nutrient
conditons but does not tolerate water-saturated soils such as heavy
clay.  It is drought tolerant but not at all tolerant of excessive shade
[15].  Yellow locoweed grows in dry meadows and on debris accumulations,
talus and scree slopes, boulder fell fields, and in areas with little
soil and sparse vegetative cover [14].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Yellow locoweed (O. campestris) was a pioneer on alkaline glacial
outwash in Alsaka and in Alberta on a coal mine spoil exposed to severe
wind and drought [15].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Columbia River crazyweed flowers from late June to early August [1].

FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Oxytropis campestris var. columbiana | Columbia River Crazyweed 



FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS : 
NO-ENTRY


POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY : 
NO-ENTRY

FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Oxytropis campestris var. columbiana | Columbia River Crazyweed 



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 : 
Periodic burning may reduce competition from invading weeds and woody
plants in crazyweed habitats [10].

REFERENCES
SPECIES: Oxytropis campestris var. columbiana | Columbia River Crazyweed 



REFERENCES : 

 .  Bauer, Paul J. 1983. Bumblebee pollination relationships on the
       Beartooth Plateau tundra of southern Montana. American Journal of
       Botany. 70(1): 134-144.  [12962]

 .  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]

 .  Densmore, R. V.; Holmes, K. W. 1987. Assisted revegetation in Denali
       National Park, Alaska, U.S.A. Arctic and Alpine Research. 19(4):
       544-548.  [6078]

 .  Dittberner, Phillip L.; Olson, Michael R. 1983. The plant information
       network (PIN) data base: Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, Utah, and
       Wyoming. FWS/OBS-83/86. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior,
       Fish and Wildlife Service. 786 p.  [806]

 .  Elisens, Wayne J.; Packer, John G. 1980. A contribution to the taxonomy
       of the Oxytropis campestris complex in northwestern North America.
       Canadian Journal of Botany. 58: 1820-1831.  [12963]

 .  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]

 .  Hitchcock, C. Leo; Cronquist, Arthur. 1961. Vascular plants of the
       Pacific Northwest. Part 3: Saxifragaceae to Ericaceae. Seattle, WA:
       University of Washington Press. 614 p.  [1167]

 .  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]

 .  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]

.  Lesica, Peter. 1984. Rare vascular plants of Glacier National Park,
       Montana. Missoula, MT: University of Montana, Department of Botany. 27
       p.  [12049]

.  Lesica, P.; Moore, G.; Peterson, K. M.; Rumely, J. H. (Montana Rare
       Plant Project). 1984. Vascular plants of limited distribution in
       Montana. Monograph No. 2. Montana Academy of Sciences, Supplement to the
       Proceedings, Volume 43. Bozman, MT: Montana State University, Montana
       Academy of Sciences. 61 p.  [11656]

.  Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
       geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p.  [2843]

.  Spence, John R.; Shaw, Richard J. 1981. A checklist of the alpine
       vascular flora of the Teton Range, Wyoming, with notes on biology and
       habitat preferences. Great Basin Naturalist. 41(2): 232-242.  [9839]

.  U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Region. 1988.
       Sensitive plant field guide [Montana]. Missoula, MT.  [12279]

.  Watson, L. E.; Parker, R. W.; Polster, D. F. 1980. Manual of plant
       species suitablity for reclamation in Alberta. Vol. 2. Forbs, shrubs and
       trees. Edmonton, AB: Land Conservation and Reclamation Council. 537 p. 
       [8855]

.  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]

.  Doren, Robert F.; Whiteaker, Louis D. 1991. The Exotic Pest Plant
       Council. Restoration & Management Notes. 9(1): 29-31.  [15413]

Related categories for Species: Oxytropis campestris var. columbiana | Columbia River Crazyweed