Native Plants
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Claytonia cordifolia
Claytonia cordifolia S. Watson
Heartleaf Springbeauty, Broadleaf Claytonia
Portulacaceae (Purslane Family)
Synonym(s): Claytonia sibirica var. cordifolia, Montia cordifolia
USDA Symbol: CLCO3
USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)
A succulent plant with most leaves at base and a pair of broadly ovate or heart-shaped leaves on stem below 3-10 white flowers in a very open raceme without bracts.
Claytonias such as this, with broad, succulent leaves, have edible, sweet-tasting foliage. The very similar Candy Flower (C. sibirica), growing in shaded places from Alaska south to southern California and east to Montana and Utah, has smaller, pink-tinged flowers, with a bract at the base of each individual flower stalk in the raceme. Once placed in the genus Montia, the western species in this group are now considered part of Claytonia.
Plant Characteristics
Duration: PerennialHabit: Herb
Fruit Type: Capsule
Size Notes: Up to about 1 foot tall.
Bloom Information
Bloom Color: White , PinkBloom Time: May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep
Distribution
USA: CA , ID , MT , OR , UT , WACanada: BC
Native Distribution: Southern British Columbia south to northern California and western Montana, and east to northern Utah.
Native Habitat: Wet soil near springs and streams; more common in mountains.
National Wetland Indicator Status
Region: | AGCP | AK | AW | CB | EMP | GP | HI | MW | NCNE | WMVE |
Status: | FAC | FAC |
Web Reference
Webref 30 - Calflora (2018) CalfloraWebref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter
Additional resources
USDA: Find Claytonia cordifolia in USDA PlantsFNA: Find Claytonia cordifolia in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Claytonia cordifolia
Metadata
Record Modified: 2023-05-02Research By: TWC Staff