About Claytonia megarhiza (A.Gray) Parry ex S.Watson
This plant is the perennial herb Claytonia megarhiza. It grows from a thick, scaly caudex, which produces a stem 5–25 cm (2–10 inches) in length. Fleshy basal leaves form a dense rosette around the caudex. Young leaves are often red, turning green as they mature, and frequently retain a dark purple-red edge. Inflorescences emerge from within the leaf rosette, usually around the edges of the rosette, and bear a dense cluster of 2 to 6 white or pinkish flowers. Each individual petal is 5–20 mm (0.2–0.8 in) long. The variety Claytonia megarhiza var. nivalis, commonly called Wenatchee springbeauty, grows on serpentine soils and produces bright violet flowers.
Claytonia megarhiza is native to western North America, ranging from northwestern Canada south to New Mexico. It grows in rock crevices and talus habitats in subalpine and alpine climates. This species is found on summits and slopes of some of North America's highest mountains, including the Redstone Mountains of the Canadian Northwest Territories, with a disjunct southern population extending into the central and southern Rocky Mountains, and reaching its southern limit in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It is often found growing on serpentine in the Wenatchee Mountains of Washington State.
The leaf rosettes and roots of Claytonia megarhiza can be eaten as an emergency food.
