The name Claytonia was bestowed upon this genus by Linnaeus in honor of John Clayton (1693-1779),
an early American botanists from Virginia, who contributed plant specimens to Gronovius for his
Flora Virginica (1739). The specific name, virginica, refers to the Colony of Virginia.
This member of the Purslane family is considered by many, to be the harbinger of spring. Native to
the mountains of the Eastern US and parts of Canada, they can be spotted in March or early April
growing in moist woodlands, along sunny stream banks, thickets and clearings.
Some of the other common names for Spring Beauty are fairy spuds, good morning spring, groundnut,
mayflower, and wild potato. The common name fairy-spuds alludes to the tuber's resemblance to a
miniature potato with many protruding eyes.
The edible, underground tubers were relished by Native Americans and early pioneers because of their
chestnut-like flavor. The leaves were added to salads, or fed to their animals.
The flowers and leaves are eaten by elk, moose, deer, and sheep, and rodents eat the tubers.
The star-like flower is ½ to ¾ inches wide. Each is made up of two persistent green
sepals, five petals, five stamens, and a three-lobed stigma. As the blooms fade, a 3-6-seeded
capsule develops. Flower color is either white with deep pink veins or all pink. The flowers of
spring beauty, which may bloom for up to two weeks, open only in sunlight.
Although individual flowers are small, their massed display is spectacular. There can be as many
as fifteen flowers from the same tuber. The lower flowers on the stem open first and as the season
progresses, flowers farther up the stem will open.
The Spring Beauty’s stem is about six inches tall. Its stem is very weak so it droops over.
It continues to grow to about one foot by the time the seeds are full-grown. A pair of linear,
dark green, 2 to 8 inch long, grass-like leaves are present halfway up the stem.
Its small size and delicate color are most effective in expansive colonies. Where the size and
design of a garden can accommodate spring beauty, it is easy to grow in rich, humus soil It thrives
in deep leaf mold with plenty of moisture, but it will grow in drier soil if given adequate moisture during active growth.
One effective use of spring beauty in the garden is as an informal ground cover under bolder
plants that need not be disturbed frequently. As the spring beauty foliage fades and vanishes,
by early summer, plants such as ferns and later-emerging wildflowers will keep the area attractive.
Although spring beauty self-sows freely in the wild, collecting the tiny seeds takes close
observation. They should be sown as soon as they ripen, in an outdoor bed. For sowing in
flats or pots indoors, seeds should first undergo six weeks of cold in the refrigerator, in
a moist medium such as sphagnum moss.
In the fall, when plants are dormant, the small, dark tubers can be set out, 2-3 inches deep
and 4-6 inches apart, in their permanent locations. Dormant tubers of established plants also
can be moved or divided.
Much of the spring beauty offered commercially has been dug from the wild. For a variety of
reasons, very few nurseries propagate it. Gardeners who want to use it should plan to spend some
time finding sources of nursery-propagated plants or to collect seed and grow their own.
Spring beauty reseeds readily in the wild, but, although it is not endangered at present, its
habitat is easily destroyed. It is this loss of habitat that threatens the continued existence
of our great diversity of wild plants and animals. Clearing forests and meadows,
draining and altering stream courses, and disturbing river floodplains can result in a
drastic decline, or even extinction, of vulnerable species.
Leave wildflowers and native plants undisturbed in the wild. Dig neither plants nor dormant
rhizomes, and avoid clearing, draining, or disturbing their habitats. Protection of the
places where they grow will ensure that spring beauty and other wildflowers will be there to
bring delight and joy to future generations.
