Broad-Leaved Spring Beauty, Carolina springbeauty
Claytonia caroliniana
Family: Portulacaceae
What it is like
Claytonia caroliniana is a PERENNIAL growing to 0.1 m (0ft 4in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 6. It is in flower in March, and the seeds ripen in May. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs). Suitable for: light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 0.1
Where it is found
Rich open woods, alluvial thickets and upland slopes. Wetlands and riparian hardwood forests from sea level to 1400 metres.
Eastern N. America - Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan, south to North Carolina, Ohio and Missouri.
Conservation Status:
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 3
Root - raw or cooked like potatoes. Rich in starch, it has a pleasant nutty flavour. Leaves and stems - raw or cooked. A very mild flavour, they are best mixed with stronger tasting leaves.
Root: includes bulbs, corms, tubers, rhizomes etc.
Medicine
Rating: 0
Other
Rating: 1
Food Forest: Plants for Edible Forest Gardens and Food Forests.
How it is grown
Prefers a damp peaty soil and a position in full sun. Requires a lime-free soil. The plant is heat tolerant in zones 6 through 1. (Plant Hardiness Zones show how well plants withstand cold winter temperatures. Plant Heat Zones show when plants would start suffering from the heat. The Plant Heat Zone map is based on the number of "heat days" experienced in a given area where the temperature climbs to over 86 degrees F (30°C). At this temperature, many plants begin to suffer physiological damage. Heat Zones range from 1 (no heat days) to 12 (210 or more heat days). For example Heat Zone. 11-1 indicates that the plant is heat tolerant in zones 11 through 1.) For polyculture design as well as the above-ground architecture (form - tree, shrub etc. and size shown above) information on the habit and root pattern is also useful and given here if available. Ephemeral emerging in spring and dying back by summer every year . A clumping mat former. Forming a dense prostrate carpet spreading indefinitely. The root pattern is a corm swelling at the stem base.
Propagating it: Seed - surface sow on a peat based compost in spring in a cold frame. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 4 weeks at 10°c. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. Division of offsets in spring or autumn.
Best place to grow: Woodland Garden Sunny Edge; Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Perennial
Hardiness: 5-9
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist