Spring Beauty (2024)

FAQs

How do you describe spring beauty? ›

Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica)

DESCRIPTION: Small, delicate perennial from deeply buried tuber from with two or more stems arise. Leaves two, opposite, strap-like and somewhat succulent.

It can literally carpet the ground in early spring, giving the impression of a light dusting of snow. Its flowers open when the sun is out and close when it is cloudy. Noteworthy CharacteristicsThis native eastern North American wildflower can be somewhat invasive in optimum growing conditions.

The spring beauty corm is quite tasty and has been a food source in Indian cultures and is still eaten by wild food enthusiasts. The corms, which contain vitamins A and C, can be eaten raw or cooked like small potatoes. Squirrels and other forest wildlife will eat the corms. The leaves and flowers are also edible.

Spring beauty is our most widely distributed early spring flower. The flower stalks bear several flowers branching from the main stem; the flowers have 2 sepals that fall off as the flower opens; petals 5, white (sometimes pink) with distinct pink veining; and 5 pink stamens.

Ah, the wonders of spring! A time of renewal, when plants and animals come alive again after the long winter. During this special time, nature is teeming with life, birds singing in the trees, vibrant wildflowers blooming in the fields, and lush foliage adorning the landscape.

Spring is the season of renewal, growth, and new beginnings. It's a time when the world awakens from its winter slumber, and nature comes alive with color, sound, and energy. From the first bloom of a flower to the return of migratory birds, spring is a season of beauty and wonder.

The Spring Beauty is an edible plant. Both man and beast may eat the leaves and the tubers (or corms). Both the Native Americans and the European settlers ate parts of this plant. Livestock and the White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus [Boddaert]) eat the leaves as well as the stems and the flowers.

Spring-beauty is a native perennial in the purslane family found in moist woodland areas in eastern Canada and the U.S.A. It is a low growing plant with groups of light pink or white flowers that sport dark pink stripes.

Carolina Spring Beauty will acclimate to moderately dry or seasonally wet sites, but performs best in partial or full shade with plenty of organic material in the soil. Under optimal circ*mstances, this plant will slowly self-sow to create colonies.

Spring beauty experienced its claim to fame when humans first recognized it as a viable food-source. Both the Iroquois and Algonquin dined on the boiled or roasted tubers because they made for a good source of snacking and taste just like potatoes.

How tall does spring beauty grow? ›

A perennial herb, spring beauty usually grows about six inches tall and eight inches wide. It sports grasslike, succulent, dark green leaves. In early spring, dense racemes of star-shaped, pink-tinged white flowers appear and last for about a month.

Spring beauty has a better relationship with another insect. Its most dependable flying pollinator is the little miner bee, Andrena erigeniae. Miner bees are some of our earliest native bees to become active in the spring. They are a little smaller than a honeybee, dark-colored with pale bands on their abdomen.

-Ohio Native

Spring Beauty is a delicate, low-growing, native ephemeral wildflower that adorns many tree-lawns, woodlands and meadows with cheerful little flowers every spring. The wispy foliage that hugs the ground and the sprawling flower stems arise from tiny, edible, potato-like corms.

Entire plant goes dormant soon after it blooms. If planted in a lawn, let the leaves go dormant before mowing.

Uses of Carolina Springbeauty

Carolina Springbeauty has very limited use as an edible plant. The roots, which are rich in starch, reportedly can be eaten raw or cooked like potatoes; and several native American groups are said to have used them for this purpose. The plant has no known medical uses.