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Montia spathulata

Common name:	Pale Spring Beauty	Family:	Portulacaceae
Author:	(Douglas.)Howell.	Botanical references:	60
Synonyms:	Claytonia exigua (Torr. & Gray.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western N. America - British Columbia southwards.
Habitat:	Dry to moist slopes[60].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Claytonia spathulata[P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Pale Springbeauty [P],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	spathulata = with small spathe
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Purslane family

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.08m. It is not frost tender. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade.

Edible Uses

Leaves.

Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 105, 257]. Succulent[177].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

We have almost no information on this species but judging by its native range it should be possible to grow it as a hardy annual in Britain. It is closely allied to M. perfoliata (a species that is naturalized in Britain) and probably has the same cultivation requirements as listed below.
Prefers a moist peaty soil[1, 60]. Plants can succeed on very poor and dry soils and in the shade of trees[52, 60].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ. The seed usually germinates rapidly.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Claytonia exigua (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Claytonia spathulata (a possible synonym).

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Portulacaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[52] Larkcom. J. Salads all the Year Round. Hamlyn 1980
A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
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