[Springbeauties and Miner's Lettuce: The Genus Claytonia East of the Cascade Mts. of Oregon and Washington]
Western Spring Beauty, Lance-leaf Spring Beauty
Claytonia lanceolata
Synonyms: Claytonia caroliniana, Claytonia caroliniana var. piersonii, Claytonia lanceolata ssp. chrysantha, Claytonia lanceolata var. idahoensis, Claytonia lanceolata var. piersonii, Claytonia sessilifolia
Western spring beauty from along the Hells Canyon Rim Road in Hells Canyon NRA...................June 28, 2008.
The photo at right
of shows a close-up of the underside of the flower of western spring beauty as seen from Steptoe Butte in the Palouse country of eastern Washington.................April 27, 2006. Note the two sepals which are characteristic of this family.
Characteristics:
Western spring beauty is a pretty, small, delicate perennial herb which emerges
early in spring. The one to several erect stems arise from 6-20 cm high and
arise from a round corm about 5-20 mm in diameter. The few basal leaves are
smooth-surfaced and somewhat waxy with elliptical blades and a long petiole.
The stem leaves are opposite, two per node, and oval to narrowly lanceolate.
They are about 1.5-6 cm long and from 5-20 cm wide. They are sessile or very
short-petiolate.
The inflorescence is a loose raceme with 3-20 flowers. On individual flowers,
the 5 white petals are 7-12 mm long and fused at the base to form a short tube.
Flowers each have 5 stamens and 3 styles. The petals may also be pink with deeper
pink veins or yellow, depending on the variety.
Habitat:
Western spring beauty may be found in seasonally moist grasslands from the
lowlands to moderate elevation in the mountains.
Range:
Western spring beauty may be found from southern British Columbia south on
both sides of the Cascades to southern California, and eastwards to Alberta
and New Mexico.
Uses:
The starchy corms taste like potatoes and may be dug and eaten before the
plant flowers.
Western spring beauty from Reecer Creek Road, Wenatchee National Forest..........June 5, 2009.
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Western springbeauty as seen along Road 35 about one-half mile downhill from the junction with Road 3517, Table Mountain, Wenatchee National Forest...........June 4, 2013.
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Western springbeauty in bloom above the Sugarloaf Trail #1889 in vernally moist swales next to melting snow patches on the south side of Sugarloaf Mountain, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest.......July 18, 2019.
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Western springbeauty as seen near 5600' along a spur road off of FS Road 5401-811, on the northern approach to Baldy Mountain, Malheur National Forest.........June 3, 2011.
This photo show western spring beauty as seen on moist soils (where the snow has just melted) at Buckhorn Lookout on the western edge of the Imnaha Canyon in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest........June 27, 2008.
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Western spring beauty as seen in vernally moist swales near Boot Creek along the North Fork Catherine Creek Trail #1905, Eagle Cap Wilderness......June 12, 2018.
Western spring beauty from Reecer Creek Road, Wenatchee National Forest..........June 5, 2009.
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Western spring beauties still in bloom at the forest edge on DNR lands about one mile or so up Dry Creek from Wenas Creek, Yakima County, WA.....May 29, 2022.
Paul Slichter