Claytonia nevadensis

Sierra spring beauty

Family: Montiaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Sierra spring beauty is a California native perennial found in the Klamath Ranges, high Cascade Range, Sierra Nevada, and eastern Sierra Nevada in subalpine streams, springs, and melting snow beds at elevations of 2,200 to 3,500 meters. Flowering from July to September, this plant produces delicate pink flowers 6 to 10 millimeters long with pale sepals. Growing with short stems 2 to 10 centimeters tall that spread or grow erect, it develops a long horizontal white or yellowish caudex with branched rhizomes. Its basal leaves are 1 to 5 centimeters long, elliptic to widely ovate with wedge-shaped bases and obtuse tips, while cauline leaves are smaller and sessile. The plant produces small round, shiny seeds about 1.5 to 2 millimeters in diameter.

Habitat: Subalpine streams, springs, melting snow beds, gravel or sand

Bloom period: Jul-Sep

Elevation: 2200-3500 m

Bioregions: KR, CaRH, SNH, SNE

California counties: Mono, Alpine, Madera, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Sierra, Shasta, Plumas, Mariposa

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