SPECIES INFORMATION 

 A. CLASSIFICATION 



1. SCIENTIFIC NAME: Clavtonia lanceolata Pursh var. 

 f lava (A. Nels.) C.L. Hitchc. (Hitchcock et al . 

 1969) . 



2. SYNONYMS: C. aurea A. Nelson (1900; not of Kuntze 

 in 1891) ; C. flava A. Nelson (1926) . 



3. COMMON NAME: Yellow springbeauty . 



4. FAMILY: Portulacaceae (Purslane family). 



5. GENUS: According to Davis (1966), the genus 

 Claytonia consists of 19 or 20 species, 15 of 

 which occur in North America. 



6. SPECIES/VARIETY: According to the taxonomic 

 treatment by Hitchcock et al. (1969), Clavtonia 

 lanceolata is a wide-ranging, variable species 

 consisting of four varieties: chrysantha, flava, 

 multiscapa , and typical lanceolata . The latter 

 variety has the widest geographic distribution, 

 occurring throughout western North America from 

 British Columbia to southern California, and east 

 to Alberta and New Mexico. The other three 

 varieties are restricted to smaller geographic 

 areas within the range of var. lanceolata . 



7. SYSTEMATIC STATUS: As part of this assessment of 

 the endangerment status of C. lanceolata var. 

 flava for the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. 

 Fish and Wildlife Service, detailed studies of its 

 systematic status are also being conducted. These 

 studies have included an analysis of the extent of 

 genetic differentiation between vars. flava and 

 lanceolata (using electrophoresis) , as well as 

 morphological studies of living plants in the 

 field. The results of the electrophoretic study 

 (conducted by Dr. Douglas Soltis' laboratory, 

 Department of Botany, Washington State University) 

 indicate that the two varieties are well 

 differentiated genetically, apparently at the 

 species level (Appendix A, p. 37) . The 

 morphological data also support taxonomic 

 treatment of var. flava as a distinct species. 

 These results are to be published in the 

 systematic literature once all analyses are 

 complete. The final conclusions will be provided 

 to the U.S. Forest Service. 



