Claytonia megarhiza

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Claytonia megarhiza
Claytonia megarhiza 5933.JPG
var. nivalis, Wenatchee Mountains
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Montiaceae
Genus: Claytonia
Species:
C. megarhiza
Binomial name
Claytonia megarhiza

Claytonia megarhiza is a species of wildflower in the family Montiaceae known by the common names fell-fields claytonia [2] and alpine springbeauty. [3] The specific epithet megarhiza is Greek for "large roots". [3]

Contents

Range and Habitat

Claytonia megarhiza is native to western North America from northwestern Canada to New Mexico, where it grows in rock crevices and talus habitats in subalpine and alpine climates. The species is known from summits and slopes of North America's highest mountains including the Redstone Mountains of the Canadian Northwest Territories, disjunct south to the central and southern Rocky Mountains reaching a southern limit in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. [4] In the Wenatchee Mountains of Washington State it is often found on serpentine. [5]

Description

This is a perennial herb growing from a thick, scaly caudex topped with a stem 5–25 cm (2–10 in) in length. [2] The fleshy basal leaves form a dense rosette around the caudex. The leaves are often red when young and turn green as they mature, often retaining a dark purple-red edge. [3] The inflorescences arise from within the rosette of leaves, usually around the rosette edges, and produce a dense cluster of two to six white or pinkish flowers. [6] Each petals reaches 5–20 mm (0.2–0.8 in) in length. [2] Claytonia megarhiza var. nivalis (Wenatchee springbeauty) grows on serpentine soils and has bright violet flowers. [5]

Uses

The rosettes of the leaves and the roots can be eaten as an emergency food. [7]

Related Research Articles

<i>Claytonia virginica</i> Species of plant

Claytonia virginica, the Virginia springbeauty, eastern spring beauty, grass-flower or fairy spud, is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Montiaceae. Its native range is eastern North America. Its scientific name honors Colonial Virginian botanist John Clayton (1694–1773).

<i>Claytonia</i> Genus of flowering plants

Claytonia is a genus of flowering plants native to Asia, North America, and Central America. The vitamin-rich leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, and the tubers can be prepared like potatoes.

<i>Claytonia sibirica</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Montiaceae

Claytonia sibirica, the pink purslane, candy flower, Siberian spring beauty or Siberian miner's lettuce, is a flowering plant in the family Montiaceae, native to the Commander Islands of Siberia, and western North America from the Aleutian Islands and coastal Alaska south through Haida Gwaii, Vancouver Island, Cascade and Coast Ranges, to a southern limit in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Populations are also known from the Wallowa Mountains, Klamath Mountains, northern Idaho, and The Kootenai. A synonym is Montia sibirica. The plant was introduced into the United Kingdom by the 18th century, where it has become very widespread.

<i>Claytonia lanceolata</i> Species of flowering plant

Claytonia lanceolata is a species of wildflower in the family Montiaceae, known by the common names lanceleaf springbeauty and western springbeauty.

<i>Claytonia exigua</i> Species of flowering plant

Claytonia exigua is a species of wildflower known by the common names serpentine springbeauty and pale claytonia, in the family Montiaceae.

<i>Aspidotis densa</i> Species of fern

Aspidotis densa is a species of fern in the Cheilanthoid subfamily, known by the common name Indian's dream or Serpentine fern or dense lace fern. It is native to the west coast of North America from British Columbia to California and east to the Rocky Mountains in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming; there is a disjunct population on serpentine soils in Quebec.

<i>Claytonia cordifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Claytonia cordifolia is a species of wildflower in the family Montiaceae known by the common name heartleaf springbeauty. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Utah, where it grows in shallow lakes and in streams or springs and wetlands including bogs and fens according to Miller and Chambers (2006). It is a perennial herb growing from a long, budding rhizome and producing an erect stem up to 40 centimeters tall. The basal leaves have oval blades up to 9 centimeters long with heart-shaped bases where they attach to their long petioles. There is also a pair of oval-shaped leaves at a midpoint on the stem. The stalked inflorescence bears up to 12 small flowers with five white petals each about a centimeter long.

<i>Claytonia gypsophiloides</i> Species of flowering plant

Claytonia gypsophiloides, known by the common names gypsum springbeauty and Coast Range claytonia, is a species of wildflower in the family Montiaceae.

<i>Claytonia nevadensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Claytonia nevadensis, known by the common names Sierra springbeauty and Sierra Nevada claytonia, is a species of wildflower in the family Montiaceae. The evolutionary relationship of Claytonia nevadensis to other claytonias is a subject of debate and ongoing genetic studies. Sierra springbeauties are diploid with a chromosome base number of x = 7

<i>Claytonia palustris</i> Species of flowering plant

Claytonia palustris is a species of wildflower in the family Montiaceae known by the common names Jonesville springbeauty and marsh claytonia. Often mistaken for Claytonia sibirica, the species is diploid with a chromosome base number of x = 6.

<i>Claytonia rubra</i> Species of flowering plant

Claytonia rubra is a species of wildflower in the family Montiaceae known by the common names redstem springbeauty and erubescent miner's lettuce. It is native to western North America from southwestern Canada to the United States of America extending from The Black Hills and western slopes of the Rocky Mountains to the Cascade and Coast Range, Ochoco and Wallowa Mountains south to the Warner Mountains, Yolla Bolly Mountains, and Sierra Nevada and Transverse Ranges [Mt. Pinos and Mt. San Gorgonio], where it is found in coniferous forests and shrublands. This is an annual herb with stems up to about 15 centimeters long. Some individuals may overwinter as biennials. The basal leaves have small rounded to diamond-shaped blades on long, tapering petioles. There are also leaves on the stem which may be rounded or squared and sometimes fuse together to create a bowl around the stem. All the leaves possess blunt (obtuse) tips according to published descriptions and taxonomic treatments. The herbage is red or pink in color at all stages of development. The inflorescence is a dense cluster of up to 30 tiny flowers, each with petals less than 4 millimeters long and white to pink-tinted in color. Together with Claytonia perfoliata and Claytonia parviflora, Claytonia rubra comprises what is almost certainly a polyploid pillar complex based on three diploid species, each occupying a definitive ecological niche

Claytonia saxosa, known by the common name Brandegee's springbeauty, is a species of wildflower in the family Montiaceae.

Claytonia umbellata is a species of wildflower in the purslane family known by the common name Great Basin springbeauty. It is native to the Great Basin of the United States, where it grows mainly in subalpine coniferous forests, often on north-facing exposed slopes in the talus. It is a perennial herb growing from a tuberous root up to 5 centimeters wide and a thin taproot. Most of the stem develops underground, as do the petioles of the most basal leaves. Above the ground appear a few oval-shaped fleshy red to green leaves and an inflorescence of up to 12 flowers. Each flower has five magenta to deeply pink-tinted white petals.

<i>Dudleya abramsii</i> Species of succulent

Dudleya abramsii is a species complex of succulent plants native to California and parts of Baja California. There are numerous subspecies, some critically endangered, with varying habits and lifestyles, but most often characterized by a smaller size, yellow flowers, and an affinity for rocky habitats. The subspecies may be polyphyletic.

<i>Lomatium cuspidatum</i> Species of flowering plant

Lomatium cuspidatum is a perennial herb of the family Apiaceae, native to the U.S. state of Washington. It is found primarily on open rocky slopes in the Wenatchee Mountains, strongly associated with serpentine scree and soils.

Boechera constancei is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family known by the common name Constance's rockcress. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the northern Sierra Nevada of Plumas and Sierra Counties. It is a member of the serpentine soils flora. This is a perennial herb growing from a branching, woody caudex. It produces one or more erect, hairless stems to maximum heights between 15 and 30 centimeters. The caudex is surrounded by a dense basal rosette of stiff, blue-green, lance-shaped leaves up to 3 centimeters long. There may be a few smaller leaves along the stem. The inflorescence produces 5 to 10 white mustardlike flowers with protruding stamens. The fruit is a hanging green silique 4 or 5 centimeters long which contains round, winged seeds.

<i>Claytonia caroliniana</i> Species of flowering plant

Claytonia caroliniana, the Carolina springbeauty, is an herbaceous perennial in the family Montiaceae. It was formerly placed in the Portulacaceae. Its native range is eastern and central North America. It is most commonly found in the New England area of the United States but its habitat extends from Ontario and a northern limit in the Cape Anguille Mountains of Newfoundland and south to Alabama. It grows approximately 6 inches tall in forests of the Appalachian Mountains and piedmont

Claytonia tuberosa, commonly known as Beringian springbeauty or tuberous springbeauty, is a species of flowering plant in the family Montiaceae. It is a perennial herb indigenous to Alaska, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, and the Yukon of North America, westward to East Asia–Siberia. The perennial grows from a globose tuberous root to a height of 15 centimetres (6 in) and bears several hermaphrodite white flowers on stems bearing a single pair of petiolate cauline leaves. Its closest relative is probably Claytonia virginica.

<i>Claytonia rosea</i> Species of flowering plant

Claytonia rosea, commonly called Rocky Mountain spring beauty, western springbeauty or Madrean springbeauty, is a diminutive spring blooming ephemeral plant with pale pink to magenta flowers. It grows a small round tuberous root and it one of the earliest wildflowers of spring in its range. It is found in dry meadows in forests of ponderosa and Chihuahuan pines, and moist ledges of mountain slopes of the Beaver Dam Mountains of Utah, Colorado Front Range, and Sierra Madre Occidental, south and east to the Sierra Maderas del Carmen of Coahuila.

<i>Oreocarya thompsonii</i> Species of flowering plant

Oreocarya thompsonii is a species of flowering plant in the genus Oreocarya with the common name Thompson's cryptantha.

References

  1. NatureServe (2023). "Claytonia megarhiza". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Flora North America
  3. 1 2 3 Southwest Colorado Wildflowers
  4. Miller, J. M. and K. L. Chambers. 2006. Systematics of Claytonia (Portulacaceae). Systematic Botany Monographs 78: 1-236. ISBN   0-912861-78-9
  5. 1 2 Hitchcock, C.L. and Cronquist, A. 2018. Flora of the Pacific Northwest, 2nd Edition, p. 56. University of Washington Press, Seattle.
  6. Jepson Manual Treatment
  7. Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982]. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. New York: Sterling. p. 92. ISBN   978-1-4027-6715-9. OCLC   244766414.