Basal leaf blades linear, 1-15 × 0.05-0.3 cm. Cauline leaf blades perfoliate, 2-10 cm diam. Flowers 2-8 mm diam., petals white or pink. 2n = 24, 36, 48.

Flowering Mar-Jun. Waste ground, landslides, highway margins, heavily grazed land; 0-2000 m; B.C.; Ariz., Calif., Idaho, Mont., Oreg., Wash.

LEAVES: basal leaves linear to narrowly oblanceolate, 6.3 - 12.8 cm long, 0.15-1 cm wide; cauline leaves connate and perfoliate.

SYNONYMS: [Claytonia perfoliata var. parviflora (Douglas ex Hook.) Torr.; Montia perfoliata var. parviflora (Douglas ex Hook.) Jeps.; M. perfoliata forma parviflora (Douglas ex Hook.) J. T. Howell].

FLOWERS: 4 - 14; sepals 1.2 - 2.5 mm long; petals 2.5-3 mm long, pink or white.

SEEDS: 1.2-1.5 mm long. 2n = 24, 36, 48.

SYNONYMS: [Claytonia perfoliata var. parviflora (Douglas ex Hook.) Torr.; Montia perfoliata var. parviflora (Douglas ex Hook.) Jeps.; M. perfoliata forma parviflora (Douglas ex Hook.) J. T. Howell].

NOTES: Moist areas: Gila, Maricopa, Pinal cos.; 800-1050 m (2600-3500 ft); Mar-May; CA, ID, MT, NV, OR, UT, WA; British Columbia, Can.; Mex. This subspecies may intergrade with other species of the C. perfoliata complex (Miller 2003).

REFERENCES: Allison Bair, Marissa Howe, Daniela Roth, Robin Taylor, Tina Ayers, and Robert W. Kiger., 2006, Vascular Plants of Arizona: Portulacaceae. CANOTIA 2(1): 1-22.

Duration: Annual

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Spreading to erect annual, 5-30 cm tall with minute, tuberous bodies.

Leaves: Blades green or pink, not glaucous, basal leaves petiolate, blade linear, narrowly lanceolate, spatulate or rhombic, 1-18 cm long; cauline leaves sessile, linear, 0.5-4 cm, or perfoliate and 10 cm or less in diameter.

Flowers: Stalked or sessile, dense or open, 1-bracted at base with 3-40 flowers; sepals 1.5-4 mm; petals 2-6 mm, white or pinkish; 3 ovules.

Fruits: Capsule, 1.5-4 mm, 3 valves.

Ecology: Found on disturbed ground often in moist areas from 2,500-7,500 ft (762-2286 m); flowers March-June.

Notes: Told apart from C. perfoliata by the generally more round, spatulate leaves. There are two subspecies in Arizona: subsp. parviflora and subsp. utahensis. They can be told apart by subsp. utahensis having spatulate leaves 0.3-1 cm wide, while subsp. parviflora has filiform to linear leaves 0.05-0.5 cm wide.

Ethnobotany: The greens are delicious eaten raw.

Etymology: Claytonia is named for John Clayton (1694-1774) an American botanist, while parviflora comes from Greek parvus, small, and flora, flower, or small flowered.

Synonyms: Montia perfoliata var. utahensis, Montia perfoliata fo. parviflora

Editor: SBuckley, 2010