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Madrean springbeauty, Rocky Mountain Spring beauty, western springbeauty

cushion miner's-lettuce, erubescent lettuce, erubescent miner's-lettuce, red miners lettuce, red stem spring beauty, red-stem miner's lettuce

Habit Plants perennial, with globose tubers 20–100 mm; periderm 5–10 mm. Plants annual, sometimes overwintering and biennial, with minute, shortened, tuberous bodies; periderm absent.
Stems

2–15 cm.

1–10 cm.

Leaves

basal leaves sometimes absent, petiolate, blade linear to narrowly spatulate, 1–7 × 0.4–2 cm, apex acute to obtuse;

cauline leaves petiolate, blade linear, 2–5 cm, apex acute to obtuse.

basal leaves in flattened to suberect rosettes, 0.5–6 cm, blade with strong red pigmentation even in juvenile plants, narrowly rhombic to ovate, spatulate, or trullate, 0.5–1.5 × 0.5–1 cm, apex obtuse;

cauline leaves distinct or connate on 1 side or perfoliate, sessile, blade ovate.

Inflorescences

multibracteate, rarely 1-bracteate;

proximalmost bract leaflike, distal bracts reduced to membranous scales.

1-bracteate;

bract leaflike, 0.5–15 mm.

Flowers

8–14 mm diam.;

sepals 3–5 mm;

petals pink, rose, or magenta, 8–10 mm;

ovules 6.

2–5 mm diam.;

sepals 1.5–2.5 mm;

petals 2–3 mm, pinkish white to white;

ovules 3.

Seeds

2–3 mm, shiny and smooth;

elaiosome 1–2 mm.

2–3 mm diam., shiny and smooth;

elaiosome 1–2 mm.

2n

= 16.

= 12, 24, 36.

Claytonia rosea

Claytonia rubra

Phenology Flowering Feb–May.
Habitat Hillsides and mesas of montane ponderosa and Chihuahuan pine and oak belts
Elevation 800-2400 m (2600-7900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CO; NM; UT; Mexico
[WildflowerSearch map]
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Claytonia rosea is morphologically distinct from C. lanceolata based on early cytological and ecological study of the two species by D. K. Halleck and D. Wiens (1966) and the author’s review of type material.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Subspecies 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Basal leaf blades trullate; cauline leaves distinct or perfoliate
subsp. rubra
1. Basal leaf blades lanceolate, spatulate, rhombic, or ovate; cauline leaves usually connate on only 1 side or perfoliate
subsp. depressa
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 472. FNA vol. 4, p. 473.
Parent taxa Portulacaceae > Claytonia Portulacaceae > Claytonia
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. perfoliata, C. rubra, C. sarmentosa, C. saxosa, C. scammaniana, C. sibirica, C. tuberosa, C. umbellata, C. virginica, C. washingtoniana
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. perfoliata, C. rosea, C. sarmentosa, C. saxosa, C. scammaniana, C. sibirica, C. tuberosa, C. umbellata, C. virginica, C. washingtoniana
Subordinate taxa
C. rubra subsp. depressa, C. rubra subsp. rubra
Synonyms C. lanceolata var. rosea Montia rubra
Name authority Rydberg: Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 31: 404. (1904) (Howell) Tidestrom: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 25: 188. (1925)
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