''Claytonia megarhiza'' is a species of wildflower in the family

Montiaceae Montiaceae are a family of flowering plants, comprising about 14 genera with about 230 known species, ranging from small herbaceous plants to shrubs. The family has a cosmopolitan distribution. The family Montiaceae was newly adopted in the APG ...

known by the common names fell-fields claytonia and alpine springbeauty. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''megarhiza'' is Greek for "large roots".

Range and Habitat

''Claytonia megarhiza'' is native to western North America from northwestern Canada to

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, where it grows in rock crevices and talus habitats in subalpine and

alpine climate Alpine climate is the typical weather (climate) for elevations above the tree line, where trees fail to grow due to cold. This climate is also referred to as a mountain climate or highland climate. Definition There are multiple definitions of ...

s. The species is known from summits and slopes of North America's highest mountains including the Redstone Mountains of the Canadian Northwest Territories, disjunct south to the central and southern Rocky Mountains reaching a southern limit in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. In the Wenatchee Mountains of Washington State it is often found on serpentine. Hitchcock, C.L. and Cronquist, A. 2018. Flora of the Pacific Northwest, 2nd Edition, p. 56. University of Washington Press, Seattle.

Description

This is a

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

growing from a thick, scaly

caudex A caudex (plural: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is m ...

topped with a stem in length. The fleshy basal leaves form a dense rosette around the caudex. The leaves are red when young and turn green as they mature, often retaining a dark purple-red edge. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

appears from within the rosette of leaves and produces a dense cluster of two to six white or pinkish flowers. Each petals reaches in length. ''Claytonia megarhiza var. nivalis'' (Wenatchee springbeauty) grows on

serpentine soil Serpentine soil is an uncommon soil type produced by weathered ultramafic rock such as peridotite and its metamorphic derivatives such as serpentinite. More precisely, serpentine soil contains minerals of the serpentine subgroup, especially anti ...

s and has bright violet flowers.

Uses

The rosettes of the leaves and the roots can be eaten as an emergency food.

References

External links

*
Photo gallery at CalPhotos
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5130380 megarhiza Plants described in 1862 Flora of North America