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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE SPRINGBEAUTY FAMILY | |||||||||
| The spring-beauty family is widespread in warm climate, especially in western North America. These plants are fleshy herbs or shrubs. The leaves are simple and are opposite or alternate on the stem or in basal rosettes. The flowers are in clusters at the top of the stem or in the axils of the leaves. The flowers have two to nine sepals and up to 19 coloured petals. Each flower has four to many stamens. The fruit is a capsule which releases two to many seeds. In many genera, the seeds have appendages to attract ants for seed dispersal. | |||||||||
| LANCELEAF SPRINGBEAUTY | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Claytonia lanceolata var. lanceolata | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Lanceleaf springbeauty grows as tall as 20 cm. Underground, this plant has round tubers. The aboveground stems are fleshy, hairless, and unbranched. The basal leaves are often absent at the time of flowering. There are two oval stem leaves that do not have stalks. The flowers are in short, unbranched clusters. The flowers are white to pink or purplish or rarely yellow in colour. The capsules release shiny, black seeds with an appendage to attract ants for seed dispersal. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Lanceleaf springbeauty grows in woods, clearings, shrublands, and prairie ravines. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southwestern Saskatchewan in the Cypress Upland ecoregion. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Lanceleaf springbeauty is threatened because of rarity in Saskatchewan. It is regionally restricted in the province. No immediate threats are known but may occur in the future. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY LANCELEAF SPRINGBEAUTY | |||||||||
| * Does this plant have round underground tubers? * Are the stems fleshy, hairless, and unbranched? * Are the flowers white to pink or purplish? * Did you find it in southwestern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found lanceleaf springbeauty! | |||||||||
