Brook spike-primrose (Epilobium torreyi) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 4
Distribution
Global range
Epilobium torreyi formerly ranged from British Columbia through south central and eastern Washington, Oregon (on both sides of the Cascades) to northwest California (rare in the Central Valley and along the coast), and in western Idaho and northeastern Nevada (Hitchcock et al. 1961; Raven and Moore 1965; Hoch 1993; see Figure 2). Hoch (1993) reports this species to occur at elevations from sea level to 2,600 m.
Figure 2. North American distribution of Epilobium torreyi.
Canadian range
In Canada, Epilobiumtorreyi was restricted to two localities (Figure 3) in the vicinity of Victoria, British Columbia (V, UVIC, CDC, HERB database). These two populations were disjunct from the next nearest population in Washington State in Thurston County, 150 km away. The species was at the northern extent of its range in North America and it no longer occurs at either site in British Columbia.
The two localities were approximately 20 km apart. Both populations were less than 20 m across so the former extent of occurrence is estimated at 0.4 km². The former combined area of occupancy of the two populations was less than 50 m².
Figure 3. Canadian distribution of Epilobium torreyi. Solid squares indicate the two populations, both extirpated, which are about 20 km apart.
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