Claytonia megarhiza

Claytonia megarhiza
Claytonia megarhiza var. nivalis in the Wenatchee Mountains
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Core eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Portulacaceae
Genus: Claytonia
Species: C. megarhiza
Binomial name
Claytonia megarhiza
(A.Gray) Parry ex S.Wats.

Claytonia megarhiza is a species of wildflower in the purslane family known by the common names fell-fields claytonia and alpine springbeauty. It is native to western North America from northwestern Canada to New Mexico, where it grows in talus habitats in subalpine and alpine climates. This is a perennial herb growing from a thick, scaly caudex topped with a stem a few centimeters in maximum length. The fleshy basal leaves form a dense rosette about the caudex. The leaves are red when new and turn green as they slowly produce chlorophyll.[1] The inflorescence appears within the patch of leaves. It is a dense cluster of 2 to 6 pink and white flowers, the petals up to two centimeters long.

References

  1. ↑ Southwest Colorado Wildflowers


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