Claytonia lanceolata, May 19, 2020
Common & scientific name
Spring beauty, Claytonia lanceolata
Family
Miner’s Lettuce, Montiaceae
Location
Difficult Trail, 8,200’
Fun, weird, helpful, or little known fact
Wherever you find this cheery, candy cane-striped, white flower, you’ll know the snow just melted there. Spring beauty is sometimes called “Indian potato” because its corm—the enlarged, bulb-like base of its stem under the soil—apparently tastes like potato when cooked. I say “apparently” because I haven’t personally tried them. I prefer ogling them to eating them (and I’m lazy).