Carolina spring beauty

(Claytonia caroliniana var. caroliniana)

Conservation Status

 

No image available

 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

N5 - Secure

SNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

Carolina spring beauty was listed by the Minnesota DNR as a state special concern species in 1984. Plant surveys found it to be more widespread and more common than previously believed, and it was delisted in 2013

     
           
Wetland Indicator Status
     
  Midwest

FACU - Facultative upland

     
  Northcentral & Northeast

FACU - Facultative upland

     
           
 
Description
 
 

Carolina spring beauty 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 6 to 21 basal leaves rising on long leaf stalks. The blades are egg-shaped or spatula-shaped. The stem has a single pair of opposite leaves. They are hairless and on stalks that are clearly distinct from the leaf blades. The blades are egg-shaped or spatula-shaped, 13 16 to 4 long but usually no longer than 2, and to 13 16 wide but usually no wider than . All of the leaves are 3 to 8 times as long as wide.

The inflorescence is an unbranched, elongated, loose cluster at the end of the stem, with several flowers on slender flower stalks.

The flowers are fragrant and 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.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

3 to 6

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

White or pinkish with fine pink stripes

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

Virginia spring beauty (Claytonia virginica var. virginica) has linear leaves that are at least 8 times as long as wide. The stem leaves are stalkless or on short stalks that are not clearly differentiated from the leaf. It is far more common in eastern Minnesota.

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Moderate moisture. Woods. Dappled sunlight.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

April to June

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

 

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 28, 29, 30.

 
  3/23/2023      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

 

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)  
  Superorder Caryophyllanae  
 

Order

Caryophyllales (pinks, cactuses, and allies)  
 

Family

Montiaceae (pussypaw)  
  Genus Claytonia (spring beauties)  
  Section Claytonia  
  Species Claytonia caroliniana (Carolina spring beauty)  
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

 

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

broad-leaf spring-beauty

Carolina spring beauty

Carolina springbeauty

Carolina spring-beauty

spring beauty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Corm

A short, solid, vertical, thickened, underground stem that serves as a storage organ.

 

Linear

Long, straight, and narrow, with more or less parallel sides, like a blade of grass.

 

Spring ephemeral

Early blooming, short-lived wildflower that emerges in early spring and disappears by early summer. They develop above-ground parts in March or April, quickly flower and go to seed, then die back to their underground parts by May or June.

 
 
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Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana)
Andree Reno Sanborn
 
  Spring Beauty (Claytonia caroliniana)  

 

slideshow

       
 
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