Participant Info

Species

Claytonia megarhiza [Claytonia arctica var. megarhiza]

Family

Montiaceae

CommonName

alpine springbeauty

Presence

YES

Status

native

EarliestDate

1968

LatestDate

2017

Ecosystem

subalpine, tundra

Geobotanical

SSawatch, Garitas, SSanjuans, Culebras, NCristos

Counties

Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Hinsdale, Mineral, Rio Grande, Saguache, San Juan

Passes

Cochetopa, Stony, Whiskey

WildlifePreserves

Other Localities

PhotoRecords

YES Rich Haswell: Rio Grande Co, saddle between Poison and Bennett Peaks 19 June 2017

Comments

In the Watershed Claytonia megarhiza has been found more often than C. lanceolata. It is present in all mountain regions of the Watershed, often just below summits of peaks on open, talus slopes. In the South San Juan Mountain Wilderness Area, Sharples (2017) records it as "abundant across alpine scree and talus." Its range extends on south through the Cristos and San Juans in Rio Arriba, Taos, and Colfax counties of New Mexico, but that marks the southeastern boundary of its USA distribution.

Annotation