Claytonia nevadensis
| Claytonia nevadensis | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Portulacaceae |
| Genus: | Claytonia |
| Species: | C. nevadensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Claytonia nevadensis S.Watson | |
Claytonia nevadensis is a species of wildflower in the purslane family known by the common names Sierra springbeauty and Sierra Nevada claytonia. It is native to California and adjacent parts of southern Oregon and western Nevada, where it can be found in the high mountain ranges from the Klamath Range through the Sierra Nevada. It grows in subalpine habitats such as scree and gravelly snowmelt stream banks. It is a perennial herb growing from a network of fleshy rhizomes with a small horizontal caudex at ground level. It takes the form of a leafy clump with a stem no longer than about 10 centimeters. The thick red-green leaves are oval to spade-shaped and a few centimeters long, not counting the longer petiole of the most basal leaves. The inflorescence is a dense cluster of 2 to 8 flowers which nests in the clump of leaves or arises on a very short stalk. Each flower has five pink-tinted white petals up to a centimeter long.