Carolina Spring Beauty is a perennial wildflower and spring ephemeral native to the North Carolina mountains. Spring ephemerals quickly bloom and seed before the canopy trees overhead leaf out. They then die down to the ground in summer after the seed capsule matures. The plant is often found in the partial shade and moist soil of fertile open woods, alluvial thickets, wetlands, riparian hardwood forests, and upland slopes. The pink to white flowers have 5 petals with darker lines giving it a striped appearance. The genus name honors John Clayton (1686-1773), who came to Virginia from England in 1705. The species name means of Carolina. Carolina Spring Beauty does best in organically rich or loamy weil-drained, moist, mildly acidic soils in partial shade (2 to 6 hours of sun per day). It cannot grow in full shade and prefers moist soil. It is less heat tolerant than C. virginica . It is generally difficult to find for commercial sale and is listed as a threatened species in Alabama. Carolina Spring Beauty will form a dense prostrate carpet that spreads indefinitely. However, you can divide existing plants in the spring or fall for replanting. The plant grows from corms and reaches 6 to 12 inches tall with an erect to sprawling growth pattern. Plant corms 3 inches deep and 3 inches apart in fall. The plant naturalizes easily by bulb offsets and self-seeding, and can be weedy in optimum growing conditions. The plant disappears from above ground shortly after the seed capsules have ripened. Use in the border of native, pollinator and woodland gardens. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
High Organic Matter; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist
Available space
Less than 12 inches
NC region
Mountains; Piedmont
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Clumping; Erect; Prostrate
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Elliptical; Ovate
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf feel
Smooth
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Two narrowly egg-shaped to elliptic leaves are 1 1/2 to 3 inches long and 1/4 to 1 inch wide occurs halfway up the slender stem. Leaves are much wider than C. virginica.
Flower color
Pink; White
Flower form
Raceme
Flower shape
Star
Flower size
< 1 inch
Flower detail
A loose cluster of 5-petaled white to pale pink flowers with deeper pink veins are 1/2 inch across are borne on the upper part of the stem. The lower flower opens first. Flowers bloom from March to May.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit detail
Fruit displays from April to June.
Stem detail
Slender stem bearing leaf pairs and a loose cluster of pink or white flowers.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Eastern Canada south to North Central and Eastern United States.
Distribution
Eastern Canada south to Georgia and west to the Mississippi.
Wildlife value
Members of the genus Claytonia support the following specialized bee: Andrena (Ptilandrena) erigeniae. Chipmunks and mice will eat the corms.