Claytonia (Spring Beauties)

apparently the only way to tell the difference between Virginia and Carolina spring beauty is by the leaves. Virginia is very long and narrow - almost grass-like, while Carolina is more oval. Here are some sources

https://virginiawildflowers.org/2015/04/10/carolina-spring-beauty/

https://the-natural-web.org/2016/05/19/a-tale-of-two-spring-beauties/

I did come across a source that said the little nibbet on the stem of Virginia will be fleshy, while on caroliniana it will be papery... but I seem to have lost that source.

There is also apparently a whole blog devoted to Claytonia - here is a helpful entry on distinguishing Miner's Lettuce from Claytonia Rubra. This also may be a source to reach out to for questions - they seem to encourage it.
https://claytonia.org/tag/claytonia-perfoliata-species-complex/

Finally found eFloras entry - apparently they put the family as portulaca.
http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=220002996

More info
https://www.npsnj.org/photo_galleries/photo_pages/claytonia_virginica.html

Distinguishing male and female phase flowers
https://springbeauties.wordpress.com/learn-the-plants/distinguishing-male-and-female-phase-flowers/

Claytonia in Arkansas
There's a neat species endemic to Arkansas that is relatively new (identified in 2013). Seems like most of the documentation of C. caroliniana is actually a misidentification of C. arkansana, a cliff-dwelling species of Claytonia.
Pretty amazing - apparently it has the ability to seek out dark crevices with its fruiting stalks, to redeposit seeds back into the cliff face.
https://anps.org/2012/05/08/ozark-spring-beauty-caught-in-the-act-high-above-cove-creek/

Here is the technical report describing the species and documenting the confusion with C. caroliniana
http://www.phytoneuron.net/2013Phytoneuron/50PhytoN-Claytonia.pdf

Here is another general ID page for C. virginica from Arkansas. It briefly describes the differences at the bottom. I like the thorough description of virginica's growth habits, though.
https://anps.org/2021/01/24/know-your-natives-spring-beauty/

Yellow subspecies (Lutea and hammondii)
http://wildflfowerlady.blogspot.com/2013/04/spring-beauty-hidden-in-plain-sight.html

Spring Beauty Rust
https://www.earthsangha.org/single-post/2016/03/28/the-life-and-times-of-spring-ephemerals

Posted on Απρίλιος 16, 2020 1145 ΠΜ by aphili8