ɪt hɐdbɪn dᵻskɹˈaɪbd æz "vˈɛɹi kˈɑːmən" ɪnðə pˈælaʊs ɹˈiːdʒən ɪnðə wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti z, ɐkˈoːɹdɪŋ tʊ æn wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti sˈɛvən ˈɑːɹɾɪkəl ɪnðɪ ɐmˈɛɹɪkən nˈætʃɚɹəlˌɪst baɪ fɹˈæŋk smˈɪθ.
It had been described as "very common" in the Palouse region in the 1890s, according to an 1897 article in The American Naturalist by Frank Smith.