Spring-Beauty

On sunny days the lawns of the campus are dotted with the flowers of this member of the Portulaca family which, like their cultivated relatives, close when it is dim ( to conserve heat) or rainy ( to protect nectar and pollen). The species in our lawns is Claytonia virginica, which has narrower, grass-like leaves. Claytonia caroliniana occurs in Shakerag Hollow and similar locations and has broader, more oval leaves. The genus is named for John Clayton, a major collector of plants in the Southeast in the 1700’s.