DESCRIPTION 



1. GENERAL NONTECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Clavtonia 

 lanceolata var. f lava is a small perennial herb, 

 with steins that arise from deep-seated corms. The 

 aboveground portions of the stems are about 2-6 

 inches tall. The middle of each stem bears two 

 opposite leaves, which are much longer (ca. 2-4 

 inches long) than wide (ca. 1/4-1/2 inch wide) . 

 The tops of the stems bear from 2 to 12 or more 

 flowers; the results of current systematic studies 

 indicate that the petals may be either yellow or 

 white. The five petals are rounded at the tips, 

 and narrow to a small base. In Montana, the 

 plants are generally in bloom from mid-May to mid- 

 June, although at the highest elevations some 

 flowers may persist into early July. See Section 

 V, p. 32, for color photos of plants and habitat. 



2. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Glabrous perennial from a 

 usually rather deep-seated, semiglobose corm 5-20 



(40) mm. in diameter; basal leaves (often lacking 

 in flowering plants) 1 or 2 , narrowly 

 oblanceolate, 2-10 mm. broad, up to about 10 cm. 

 long (including the subterranean portion of the 

 slender petiole); flowering stems 1-several, up to 

 about 12 cm. tall (not including the subterranean 

 portion or raceme) , bearing (from slightly below 

 to above midlength) 2 opposite, sessile or 

 subsessile, narrowly lanceolate leaves that are 

 commonly about 3-10 (12) mm. wide and 2-6 cm. 

 long; racemes loosely (2) 3- to 12-flowered, often 

 secund, reduced-bracteate below; pedicels stout to 

 slender, 1-5 cm. long, usually arched-recurved in 

 fruit; sepals 4-7 mm. long; corolla deep yellow or 

 white, the petals 7-12 mm. long; stamens 5, 

 basally adnate to the petals; styles 3; capsule 

 ovoid, firm-walled, about 4 mm. long; seeds (1-2) 

 3-6, black and shining, 2-2.5 mm. long, very 

 indistinctly warty-papillate, with a fairly 

 evident strophiole (adapted from Hitchcock et al. 

 1964) . 



3. LOCAL FIELD CHARACTERS: The two varieties of 

 Claytonia lanceolata that occur in Montana (vars. 

 f lava and lanceolata ) both possess deep-seated, 

 roundish corms. However, recent systematic 

 studies indicate that the two are distinguishable 

 by leaf morphology. Variety f lava has leaves 

 which are much longer than wide, being lanceolate 



(often narrowly so) in shape. Variety lanceolata 

 has leaves that are typically shorter and broader. 

 In addition, var. f lava can have either yellow or 

 white flowers, with petals that are most often 



