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Photo by Blake Wellard; Blake Wellard
Utah Division of Wildlife Resources; Utah Division of Wildlife Resources; Sources: ESRI, USGS, NOAA; Sources: ESRI, USGS, NOAA; Blake Wellard 2024; Blake Wellard 2024
Clay Reed-mustard
Hesperidanthus argillaceus
NatureServe conservation status
Global (G-rank): G1
State (S-rank): S1
External links
Species range
Shadscale, Indian ricegrass, pygmy sagebrush, and other mixed desert shrub communities on the Tertiary lower Uinta and upper Green River Shale formations at 1465 to 1720 m in Uintah Co.; a Uinta Basin endemic (Welsh et al. 2015).
Estimate from download of data from Utah Rare Plant Database on August 20 2021.
Geocat 803 observations: Extent of Occurrence: 304.532 km2.
Threats or limiting factors
All known populations are on Federal lands leased for oil and gas reserves. Oil and gas exploration and development of wells and ancillary facilities are ongoing threats. As of 2005, the Uinta Basin was an area of intense oil and gas exploration, and some occurrences were potentially threatened by sedimentation and erosion from upslope oil and gas developments (Franklin 2005).In addition, the entire known range is underlain by oil-rich shale; oil-shale mining and processing are significant potential threats. Franklin also notes slight impacts from horses on steep slopes (Franklin, 2005). Thirty five observations in Utah Rare Plant Database note threat of feral domesticated animals (URPD 2025). Off-road vehicle use is also an active threat (USFWS 1994). Domestic livestock grazing may have had an impact historically, but is not believed to be a significant threat currently due to grazing management by the BLM (USFWS 1994).
