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

Claytonia nevadensis, known by the common names Sierra springbeauty and Sierra Nevada claytonia, is a species of wildflower in the family Montiaceae. The evolutionary relationship of Claytonia nevadensis to other claytonias is a subject of debate and ongoing genetic studies. Sierra springbeauties are diploid with a chromosome base number of x = 7[1][2][3]

Distribution

The wildflower is endemic to northern California and south-central Oregon.[4][5]

It is native to the Sierra Nevada as far south as Farewell Gap; and is indigenous to the Sweetwater Range, Trinity Mountains, Inner Klamath Range, southern Cascade Range, and northeast to Steens Mountain of the Harney Basin Region of Oregon.[2] It grows in subalpine habitats such as scree and gravelly snowmelt stream banks.

Description

Claytonia nevadensis is a perennial herb growing from a network of fleshy rhizomes with a small horizontal caudex at ground level. It takes the form of a leafy clump with a stem no longer than about 10 centimeters.[2]

The thick red-green leaves are oval to spade-shaped and a few centimeters long, not counting the longer petiole of the most basal leaves.[2]

The inflorescence is a dense cluster of 2 to 8 flowers which nests in the clump of leaves or arises on a very short stalk. Each flower has five magenta to pink-tinted white petals up to a centimeter long. The bloom period is July to September.[2]

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. 1 2 3 4 5 Jepson eFlora: Claytonia nevadensis
  3. ↑ Flora of North America
  4. ↑ Calflora: Claytonia nevadensis
  5. ↑ Chambers, K. L. 1963. Claytonia nevadensis in Oregon. Leaflets Western Botany 10: 1-8.


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