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

Sierra Nevada claytonia, Sierra Spring beauty

Habit Plants annual, sometimes overwintering and biennial, with minute, shortened, tuberous bodies; periderm absent. Plants perennial, rhizomatous; rhizome 4–8 mm diam.; periderm 5–15 mm.
Stems

1–10 cm.

3–10 cm.

Leaves

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.

basal leaves sessile, blade spatulate to rhombic or ovate, 2–10 × 0.2–3 cm;

cauline leaves sessile, blade ovate, 0.5–2 × 0.2–0.5 cm.

Inflorescences

1-bracteate;

bract leaflike, 0.5–15 mm.

ebracteate.

Flowers

2–5 mm diam.;

sepals 1.5–2.5 mm;

petals 2–3 mm, pinkish white to white;

ovules 3.

12–16 mm diam.;

sepals 2–3 mm;

petals pink to magenta, 8–12 mm;

ovules 6.

Seeds

2–3 mm diam., shiny and smooth;

elaiosome 1–2 mm.

(1–)6, 2–3 mm, shiny and smooth;

elaiosome 1 mm or less.

2n

= 12, 24, 36.

= 14.

Claytonia rubra

Claytonia nevadensis

Phenology Flowering May–Aug.
Habitat Mountain fell-fields
Elevation 2000-3500 m (6600-11500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; CO; ID; MT; NV; OR; SD; UT; WA; WY; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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. 473. FNA vol. 4, p. 470.
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. rosea, 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. ogilviensis, C. palustris, C. parviflora, C. perfoliata, C. rosea, C. rubra, 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 Montia rubra Montia nevadensis
Name authority (Howell) Tidestrom: Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 25: 188. (1925) S. Watson: in W. H. Brewer et al., Bot. California 1: 77. (1876)
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