Claytonia palustris

Claytonia palustris is a species of wildflower in the family Montiaceae known by the common names Jonesville springbeauty and marsh claytonia. Often mistaken for Claytonia sibirica, the species is diploid (2n = 12) with a chromosome base number of x = 6. [1]

Claytonia palustris
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Montiaceae
Genus: Claytonia
Species:
C. palustris
Binomial name
Claytonia palustris
Swanson & Kelley

Distribution

The wildflower is endemic to California where it is a rare species indigenous to wetlands including bogs, fens, meadows and streamside riparian thickets at low- to mid-elevations of the Klamath Mountains, Cascade Range, and Sierra Nevada as far south as the Kern and Tule River watersheds. [2] The species epithet palustris is Latin for "of the marsh" and indicates its common habitat. [3]

Description

Claytonia palustris is a rhizomatous perennial herb producing a slender stem up to about 0.5 metres (1.6 ft) long. It has leaves with oval-shaped blades a few centimeters long at the ends of long, narrow petioles. The inflorescence bears up to 18 flowers on a long stalk. Each flower has 5 white or pink-tinted white petals just under a centimeter long. The bloom period is May to October.

References
  1. Miller, J. M. and K. L. Chambers. 2006. Systematics of Claytonia (Portulacaceae). Systematic Botany Monographs 78: 1-236. ISBN 0-912861-78-9
  2. Miller, J. M. and K. L. Chambers. 2006. Systematics of Claytonia (Portulacaceae). Systematic Botany Monographs 78: 1-236. ISBN 0-912861-78-9
  3. Archibald William Smith A Gardener's Handbook of Plant Names: Their Meanings and Origins, p. 258, at Google Books
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