Claytonia virginica

Seed germination improves with cold/moist stratification (Steffen 1997).

Claytonia in named in honor of Dr. John Clayton, a botanist and plant collector during the Colonial period. Springbeauty is one of the first coastal prairie wildflowers to appear in the spring. It is also found in open woods and meadows in much of the eastern United States. The young leaves and plants may be eaten in the spring, raw or cooked. The roots are eaten raw or cooked in late spring before the tops die back. After die-back the roots are difficult to find. Because this wildflower is rare in coastal prairie it should never be harvested from remnants for food.

Rich low woods, in sandy soil, thickets, clearings.