Family: Montiaceae
Springbeauty
Matthew L. Wagner
Key to Wisconsin Claytonia
- 1a.Cauline leaves 2.5–6.5(–8) times as long as broad, the blade diamond-shaped with a distinct petiole C. caroliniana
- 1b.Cauline leaves more than 8 times as long as broad, the blade linear, without a distinct petiole C. virginica
Both of our species are quintessential spring ephemerals, flowering in early spring and then withering away soon after. Petal color is generally pale pink but can range from white to deep pink. Claytonia virginica is widespread, being absent or rare in the Central Sands and northwest portion of the state. Claytonia caroliniana occurs in far northern Wisconsin, in the northeast and northwest, but is absent from the sandy regions of the Northern Highlands and Northeast Sands ecological landscapes. Only in Door Co. do the two species overlap in range.
