Claytonia cordifolia

Heart leaf spring beauty

Family: Montiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Heart leaf spring beauty is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, northern Coast Ranges, and northern Sierra Nevada at elevations of 1,200 to 2,300 meters in shaded swamps, streambanks, seeps, and wet meadows. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces delicate white flowers 8 to 13 millimeters long in small clusters of 3 to 12 blooms. Growing with erect stems 10 to 40 centimeters tall, it develops a short horizontal caudex and long rhizomes with bulb-like buds. Its distinctive leaves include basal blades 1 to 9 centimeters long, widely ovate with truncate or heart-shaped bases and obtuse to acute tips. The plant produces tiny round, shiny seeds about 1.5 to 2 millimeters in diameter.

Habitat: Generally shaded swamps, streambanks, seeps, wet meadows

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 1200-2300 m

Bioregions: KR, NCoRH, n SNH

California counties: Siskiyou, Del Norte, Humboldt, Plumas, Tehama, Trinity

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.