About Claytonia saxosa Brandegee
Claytonia saxosa Brandegee is a small, compact annual herb that grows in clumps a few centimeters wide within rock crevices. This species favors serpentinite as its geologic substrate. It produces small leaves with fleshy, spatulate blades. Its basal leaves and flowering stems are pink or red, and are densely packed around the short stem that grows on top of a tiny, tuberous caudex. The chromosome number for this species is 2n = 16. Two to ten flowers grow from each clump. Each flower has five light pink petals that are less than one centimeter long. The species blooms from March to May. This wildflower is endemic to northern California and southern Oregon. In northern California, it grows on serpentine soils. In southern Oregon, it is found at three locations growing on basalt soils within Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. It occurs on rocky open slopes at mid to high elevations.
