Claytonia caroliniana

Named for one of our early American botanists, John Clayton (1693-1773), who lived in Virginia, "Carolina Spring Beauty" as it is known in these here parts lives up to that common name. One of the earliest of wildflowers, it blooms for weeks in early March before it goes dormant in mid Spring. The flowers are white or pink with darker pink stripes. All Claytonia species prefer rich moist soils and light shade and are tasty additions to that wild foraged salad. C. caroliniana has ovate lanceolate foliage and grows into a plant about 3-6" tall. A good companion plant would be ferns as they start unfurling their fiddle heads around the same time that Claytonia is going beddy bye.