For Your Garden - April 2021

Native plants provide beauty as well as food and shelter for wildlife. Native species are adapted to the Illinois climate. They require little or no watering and are resistant to drought, insects and most diseases. Because they are perennials, you can welcome their presence year after year.

spring beauty (Claytonia virginica)

Spring beauty grows in woodlands and lawns throughout the state. There are two leaves per plant. This species is one of the first to flower in spring, blooming from March through June. Its petals are white or pink with darker-pink veins. The plant has only a single stem, and flowers appear at the tip. Spring beauty may attain a height of six to 12 inches.

Classification and taxonomy are based on Mohlenbrock, Robert H. 2014. Vascular flora of Illinois: A field guide. Fourth edition. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale. 536 pp.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Portulacaceae