Mary McCallum

Pacific lanceleaf springbeauty (Claytonia multiscapa ssp. pacifica) is a tiny plant for such a big name! Though seldom seen, it can be found in the Olympic Mountains, Vancouver Island and the North Cascade Range of British Columbia. A surveyor would need to look for it early in the season just after snowmelt in wet subalpine and alpine meadows at elevations above 4,100 feet. It looks like the closely related lanceleaf springbeauty (Claytonia lanceolata), a widespread species commonly found from the foothills to alpine areas across our state and requires a keen eye to note the subtle differences.

Pacific lanceleaf springbeauty has lanceolate to linear-lanceolate stem leaves that gradually taper to a petiole and generally produces several flowering stems per corm. In contrast, its common relative has sessile leaves that range from linear to ovate in shape and one to a few flowering stems per corm. The two species vary in character of their inflorescence bracts: Pacific lanceleaf springbeauty’s are often green whereas the lowest bracts on lanceleaf springbeauty are often membranous. Both species typically have white to pink flowers. Like other species in the Miner’s Lettuce Family (Montiaceae), Pacific lanceleaf springbeauty leaves are fleshy and glabrous, and seeds are held in capsules between two persistent sepals.

In 2024, Rare Care volunteer Jeff Thorson made a small seed collection from a population in Grays Harbor County. This is the first collection of the species in our seed bank, bringing the total number of taxa in the seed bank to 157.