Flora of North America species comparison

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Claytonia perfoliata

Claytonia perfoliata subsp. perfoliata

Indian lettuce, miner's-lettuce, miner's-lettuce spring-beauty, winter purslane
Photo is of parent taxon

claytonia, miner's-lettuce, miner's-lettuce spring-beauty
Habit Plants annual, with minute, tuberous bodies; periderm absent.
Stems

5–50 cm.

Leaves

basal leaves in suberect to erect, seldom flattened rosettes, petiolate, 1–30 cm, blade often with weak red pigmentation, broadly rhombic to deltate or reniform, 1–7 × 0.5–5(–6) cm, apex obtuse to apiculate, mucro 1–3 mm;

cauline leaves sessile, blade perfoliate or cleft or notched, 10 cm diam. or less.

blades green;

basal leaf rosettes erect, 20–50 cm, blade oblanceolate, ovate, or deltate, apex obtuse;

cauline leaves perfoliate, blade 1–10 cm diam., margins entire.
Inflorescences

1-bracteate;

bract leaflike, 0.5–15 mm.

Flowers

3–10 mm;

sepals 1.5–4 mm;

petals pink or white, 2–5 mm;

ovules 3.

Seeds

2–5 mm, shiny and smooth;

elaiosome 1–3 mm.

3–5 mm.
2n

= 12, 24, 36, 48, 60.

= 24, 36, 48, 60.

Claytonia perfoliata

Claytonia perfoliata subsp. perfoliata
Phenology Flowering Jan–May.
Habitat Waste ground, orchards, roadsides, overgrazed rangelands
Elevation 0-1000 m [0-3300 ft]
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; BC; Central America (Guatemala); adventive in Europe; Pacific Islands (New Zealand)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; ID; MT; OR; UT; WA; BC
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Subspecies 3 (3 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Basal leaf rosettes erect, 20-50 cm; cauline leaf pairs connate into perfoliate discs, blade margins entire; seeds 3-5 mm
subsp. perfoliata
1. Basal leaf rosettes suberect to flattened, 2-30 cm; cauline leaf pairs perfoliate, blade margins notched or deeply cleft; seeds 2-4 mm
→ 2
2. Basal leaf blades ovate to broadly rhombic, apex obtuse; leaf blades often beet red, gray-green, or purplish; epidermal gas pockets easily seen in field; seeds 3-4 mm
subsp. intermontana
2. Basal leaf blades deltate, apex apiculate; leaf blades mostly green; not beet red; epidermal gas pockets usually not visible (except in populations of California Transverse Ranges); seeds 2-3 mm
subsp. mexicana
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 472. Treatment author: John M. Miller. FNA vol. 4, p. 472.
Parent taxa Portulacaceae > Claytonia Portulacaceae > Claytonia > Claytonia perfoliata
Sibling taxa
C. acutifolia, C. arctica, C. arenicola, C. caroliniana, C. cordifolia, C. exigua, C. gypsophiloides, C. lanceolata, C. megarhiza, C. multiscapa, C. nevadensis, C. ogilviensis, C. palustris, C. parviflora, C. rosea, C. rubra, C. sarmentosa, C. saxosa, C. scammaniana, C. sibirica, C. tuberosa, C. umbellata, C. virginica, C. washingtoniana
C. perfoliata subsp. intermontana, C. perfoliata subsp. mexicana
Subordinate taxa
C. perfoliata subsp. intermontana, C. perfoliata subsp. mexicana, C. perfoliata subsp. perfoliata
Synonyms Montia perfoliata
Name authority Donn ex Willdenow: Sp. Pl. 2: 1186. (1798) unknown
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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