Claytonia caroliniana is a flowering, woodland perennial herb. It grows from March though June and is one of the earliest spring ephemerals. The plant grows from spherical underground tubers in light humus. They sprout and bloom before the tree canopy develops. Once the area is shaded, the plants whither leaving only the tuberous roots underground..
There are two green leaves that grow opposite each other on a node. The leaf has no teeth or lobes and a prominent central vein. They grow up to three inches long and 1/2 to 3/4 inches wide.
The plant is edible but its usability is limited due to difficulty harvesting and the small quantities each plant produces. Its tuberous roots are edible and rich in starch and can be cooked or eaten raw . The leaves can be eaten as well. The tuberous roots are eaten by eastern chipmunks and white-footed mice.
The plant was named after John Clayton. Clayton was an early collector of plant specimens in Virginia.
^ a b "Claytonia caroliniana". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
^ "Claytonia caroliniana". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – via The Plant List.
^ a b c d e f "Claytonia caroliniana (Carolina spring-beauty)". Go Botany. New England Wildflower Society.
^ a b "Adirondack Wildflowers: Carolina Springbeauty | Claytonia caroliniana". www.adirondackvic.org. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
^ a b c d "Adirondack Wildflowers: Carolina Springbeauty | Claytonia caroliniana". wildadirondacks.org. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
^ a b c Chayka, Katy; Dziuk, Peter (2016). "Claytonia caroliniana (Carolina Spring Beauty)". Minnesota Wildflowers. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
^ "John Clayton". Encyclopedia Virginia.
Miller, John M. (2003). "Claytonia caroliniana". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee. Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). 4. New York and Oxford – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
"Claytonia caroliniana". Plants for a Future.
This page was last edited on 13 November 2018, at 16:25 (UTC).