Claytonia virginica

Claytonia caroliniana

    There are two species of Claytonia found in Scott County that are commonly called Spring Beauty. Claytonia virginica has grass-like leaves and Claytonia caroliniana has broader, oval shaped leaves. The blooms of both species are very similar and range in color from white to pink. Spring Beauty grows from edible, underground tubers that were relished by Native Americans because of their chestnut-like flavor. The genus was named in honor of John Clayton, an early American botanist who supplied the material for an eighteenth-century book on the flora of Virginia.

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