Claytonia crawfordii

Crawford's spring beauty

Family: Montiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Crawford's spring beauty is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in exposed forest openings on north-facing volcanic slopes at elevations of 800 to 2,200 meters. Flowering from March to May, this delicate plant produces white flowers with faint pink veins, the petals occasionally showing a soft pink base. Growing with slender erect stems 3 to 8 centimeters tall, it emerges from a spheric brown tuberous root. Its two cauline leaves are green with distinctively raised secondary veins, ranging from ovate to elliptic and measuring 8 to 34 millimeters long, with a striking color contrast of dark green on top and beet-red underneath. Its small spheric seeds are smooth and measure 2 to 3 millimeters in diameter.

Habitat: Exposed forest openings, generally on north-facing, stony and talus slopes of volcanic rocks and in volcanic-derived soils

Bloom period: Mar-May

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