Carolina spring beauty

Claytonia caroliniana var. lewisii McNeill; C. caroliniana var. spatulifolia (Salisbury) W. H. Lewis

Plants perennial, with globose tubers 10-20 mm diam.; periderm 1-5 mm. Stems 6-25 cm. Leaves: basal leaves 6-21, petiolate, blade elliptic or spatulate, 3-5 × 1-3 cm; cauline leaves abruptly petiolate, blade lanceolate to spatulate or ovate, 4-8 × 0.5-2.5 cm. Inflorescences 1-bracteate (rarely with 2 bracts). Flowers 8-12 mm diam.; sepals 3-5 mm; petals white, pink, or candy-striped, 6-10 mm; ovules 6. Seeds 2-4 mm, shiny and smooth; elaiosome 1-2 mm. 2n = 16, 24, 25, 26, 27, 36, 38.

Flowering Mar-Jun. Wetlands and riparian hardwood forests; 0-1400 m; N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), N.S., Ont., P.E.I., Que.; Conn., Ga., Iowa, Ky., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Minn., N.H., N.Y., N.C., Pa., Tenn., Vt., Va., W.Va., Wis.