Index of Species Information
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:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/forb/mondif/all.html [].
On 30 May 2018, the common name of this species was changed in FEIS
from: branching montia
to: spreading minerslettuce. The distribution map was also added.
ABBREVIATION:
MONDIF
SYNONYMS:
Claytonia diffusa Nutt. [4,5,7]
NRCS PLANT CODE:
MODI3
COMMON NAMES:
spreading minerslettuce
branching montia
TAXONOMY:
The currently accepted scientific name of spreading minerslettuce 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 spreading minerslettuce 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:
Spreading minerslettuce is distributed primarily west of the Cascade-Sierra
Nevada crest from British Columbia to northwestern California [4,7,11].
 |
| Distribution of spreading minerslettuce. Map courtesy of USDA, NRCS. 2018. The PLANTS Database.
National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC [2018, May 30] [10]. |
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:
None
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES:
No information was available on this topic.
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Montia diffusa
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:
No information was available on this topic.
PALATABILITY:
No information was available on this topic.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE:
No information was available on this topic.
COVER VALUE:
No information was available on this topic.
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:
No information was available on this topic.
OTHER USES AND VALUES:
No information was available on this topic.
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
No information was available on this topic.
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Montia diffusa
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Spreading minerslettuce 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 information was available on this topic.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
Spreading minerslettuce 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 information was available on this topic.
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Spreading minerslettuce flowers from May to July [7].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Montia diffusa
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS:
Information regarding the ecological adaptations of spreading minerslettuce for
survival following fire was not available in the literature as of 1993.
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].
Spreading minerslettuce often occurs in burned or otherwise disturbed
coniferous forests [11], and may have similar postfire reproductive
patterns.
FIRE REGIMES:
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY:
No information was available on this topic.
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Montia diffusa
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT:
No information was available on this topic.
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE:
No information was available on this topic.
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
No information was available on this topic.
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. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. 2018. PLANTS Database, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service
(Producer). Available: https://plants.usda.gov/. [34262]
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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