It’s nearly spring and that means the spring beauty wildflowers (Claytonia virginica) are blooming. These tiny pink and white flowers are found throughout Mississippi and most of the eastern U.S., often in fields, lawns, parks, and even in forests. They are a sure sign of spring.
As one of the earliest blooming spring flowers, it is an early source of food for several types of bees and flies. Small mammals dig up and eat the corms of the plant (the underground stem) and deer may occasionally eat the leaves of the plant. Some might call it a weed, but we love to see the fields of spring beauties.
