Claytonia exigua

Little spring beauty

Family: Montiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Little spring beauty is a California native annual found in rocky or open areas at low to moderate elevations. Flowering from February to May, this delicate plant produces white to pale pink flowers 2 to 5 millimeters long in small clusters of 3 to 15 blooms. Growing with slender stems 1 to 15 centimeters tall, it spreads in a low, delicate form with both basal and cauline leaves. Its leaves are narrow and linear, with basal leaves reaching up to 12 centimeters long and cauline leaves shorter, typically under 8 centimeters. The tiny seeds are elliptic, approximately 1 to 1.5 millimeters long, with a minute appendage.

California counties: Humboldt, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Kern, San Luis Obispo, Placer, San Diego, Monterey, Marin, Colusa, Napa, Contra Costa, Sonoma, Alameda, Santa Clara, El Dorado, Lake, Yolo, Solano, Ventura, Mendocino, Trinity, Santa Cruz

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