Claytonia lanceolata, May 16, 2023
May 23, 2023
Common & scientific name
Spring beauty, Claytonia lanceolata
Family
Miner’s Lettuce, Montiaceae
Location
Difficult Trail, 8,100’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Wherever you find this cheery, candy-cane-striped flower, you’ll know the snow just melted there. Spring beauty is sometimes called “Indian potato” because its corm—the enlarged, bulb-like base of its stem under the soil—apparently tastes like potato when cooked. I say “apparently” because I haven’t personally tried them. I prefer ogling them to eating them (and I’m lazy). Note the variation in color, from almost white to lavender.
Southeast facing slope at 11,500’, May 30, 2023