Portulacaceae

Claytonia sibirica

Candy Flower

Spreading to erect, with stolons that sometimes form new plants. Stems few to several. Foliage color varies from green to bronze. Basal leaves egg-shaped, with long petioles; stem leaves opposite, heart-shaped, sessile but not fused together. Flowers in open clusters of 1–3, each cluster with small elliptical bract at base. Petals 1/4–1/2 in., white with pink pencil markings. Grows in moist places in forests, streambanks, along coast and to mid-elevations. At upper elevations, growing in shaded swamps, seeps, and wet meadows, is similar C. cordifolia, which has no bracts below the inflorescence and has white flowers without pencil markings.

• Rarity: Locally Common
• Flowering Time: Mid Spring
• Life Cycle: Annual, Perennial
• Height: 6--14 inches
• Habitat: Coastal, Vernal Wet, West-Side Forest, Meadow, East-Side Forest
• Found In: Olympic NP, Mt. Rainier NP, N Cascades NP, Wallowas, Columbia Basin, West Gorge, Siskiyous
• Native: Yes