Claytonia virginica is a harbinger of spring in deciduous understories of eastern North America. Further, as two of its common names suggest, it has historic cultural relevance as an ephemeral source of both beauty and food. It flowers, senesces, and disappears from the aboveground plant community in the span of weeks. This herb invites special notice; its grasslike leaves measure 2-5 inches long and, even when flowering, its diminutive stature requires the observer to physically crouch to the forest floor. As warming influences both understory herbs and the overstory canopy, effects on spring beauty’s life history signal broader changes.
