Virginia spring beauty

(Claytonia virginica var. virginica)

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

N5 - Secure

SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

Wetland Indicator Status

Great Plains

FACU - Facultative upland

Midwest

FACU - Facultative upland

Northcentral & Northeast

FACU - Facultative upland

 
Virginia spring beauty
 
 
Description

Virginia 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 1 to few basal leaves rising on 2 to 8 long leaf stalks. The blades are linear, 1 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, 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.

 

Height

3 to 6

 

Flower Color

White or pinkish with fine pink stripes

 

Similar Species

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.

Habitat

Moderate moisture. Woods. Dappled sunlight.

Ecology

Flowering

April to June

 

Pests and Diseases

 

Use

 

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 24, 28, 29, 30.

4/21/2024    
     

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) / Angiospermae (flowering plants)

Class

Magnoliopsida (flowering plants)

Superorder

Caryophyllanae

Order

Caryophyllales (pinks, cactuses, and allies)

Family

Montiaceae (pussypaw)

Genus

Claytonia (spring beauties)

Section

Claytonia

Species

Claytonia virginica (Virginia spring beauty)

   

Subordinate Taxa

 

   

Synonyms

Claytonia media

Claytonia robusta

   

Common Names

narrowleaf spring beauty

narrow-leaved spring beauty

spring beauty

springbeauty

Virginia spring beauty

Virginia springbeauty

Virginia 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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Nancy Falkum

Virginia spring beauty    
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Virginia spring beauty   Virginia spring beauty

Plant

     
Virginia spring beauty   Virginia spring beauty

Inflorescence

     
Virginia spring beauty    
Flower  

 

 

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Slideshows

Claytonia virginica
Butler Herbarium

Claytonia virginica

 

slideshow

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Other Videos

Early Spring Signs Of Plant Life - Foraging Edible Spring Beauty
MiWilderness

About

Published on Apr 5, 20131

Foraging for wild edible and medicinal plants of late winter and early spring. Plants harvested were spring beauty, garlic mustard, basswood buds and mullein.

This was a harsh late winter with lots of ice and snow, and many of the plants that normally survive through the winter months didn't fair so well.

It's getting toward the end of the season for harvesting most wild root crops, pretty soon they will be springing up from the ground, the roots will get pithy and no longer be palatable.

If you'd like to find more up to date information on foraging wild plants and mushrooms, what is in season right now, and information on the best field guides and identification books I use visit my Facebook page.

www.facebook.com/michigan.wilderness

Thanks for watching, subscribing, and supporting this channel. If you like this video please give a thumbs up and share it with others. If you have any questions or tips please leave a comment.

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
wvoutdoorman

About

Published on Mar 23, 2012

Spring Beauty in Bloom. It is an early wildflower (Claytonia virginica)

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)
PrettyWorld2011

About

Uploaded on Apr 12, 2011

http://www.InBloomThisWeek.com A delicate Spring Beauty flower.

 

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Nancy Falkum
5/6/2022

Location: Whitewater WMA, Main Branch Unit

Virginia spring beauty
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