Claytonia virginica var. virginica

Native

Moderate moisture. Woods. Dappled sunlight.

April to June

White or pinkish with fine pink stripes

3″ to 6″

This is a 3″ to 6″ tall, erect, perennial forb that rises on 1 to a few stems from a rounded, vertical, thickened corm. This is a spring ephemeral.

The stems are hairless and light green or reddish green.

There are 1 to few basal leaves rising on 2⅓″ to 8″ long leaf stalks. The blades are linear, 1⅓″ to 5½″ long, and 3 ⁄16″ to ¾″ wide. The stem has a single pair of opposite leaves. They are hairless and stalkless or on short leaf stalks that are barely differentiated from the leaf blades. The blades are linear, ⅜″ to 4″ long but rarely less than 2¾″ long. All of the leaves are at least 8 times as long as wide.

The inflorescence is an unbranched, elongated, loose cluster at the end of the stem. The cluster has 5 to 19 flowers on slender, ½″ to 1″ long flower stalks.

The flowers are fragrant and 3 ⁄16″ to ½″ in diameter. They have 5 petals that are white or pinkish with fine pink stripes. There are only 2 sepals beneath the petals. On sunny days the flowers open and the stems become erect. On cloudy days and at night the buds remain closed and the stalks droop.

The fruit is an egg-shaped capsule with several seeds.

Carolina spring beauty (Claytonia caroliniana var. caroliniana) has broad egg-shaped to oblong leaves that are 3 to 8 times as long as wide. The stalk of the stem leaves is obviously distinguishable from the leaf. It is much less common in Minnesota, its range restricted to the northeast and Hennepin County.