Claytonia virginica ( Spring Beauty)

This lovely spring beauty ( how apropos) is in the Purslane family (Portulacaceae). It has succulent foliage with delicate pink or whitish flowers striped with dark pink. They stand 6-8" tall. This native plant bring back memories of when I was younger and lived at my family home. We use to have some in the garden but they are long gone. There is still a swath on the neighbours adjacent property that has flourished there for decades.

This past Easter I visited my family in Windsor, Ontario the city of my birth. I went for a walk with my family and of course saw the colony in the lawn at my neighbours. We continued walking into a subdivison through a path on public property which were more variable. I came the next morning with my Dad and my trowel in hand and dug up a pink and white clump. Shhhh!!!! Don't tell anyone. To be clear they are prolific in Ontario and I would NEVER dig up a plant that is endangered or critical!

They are found in moist woods, thickets, clearings and lawns. They range from Ontario to Nova Scotia and down into the south-eastern U.S. They grow from underground tubers that have a sweet chesnut-like flavour. This I cannot personally verify. Native Americans and Colonists used the tubers for food. Below are photos in habitat.