Claytonia sibirica

Claytonia sibirica is a small evergreen perennial with a haze of small pale pink flowers veined with bright pink above its small fleshy, shiny dark green leaves. It only blooms once in its life, but will do so tirelessly from spring to autumn, and self-seeds spontaneously in every nook and cranny of the undergrowth. This plant is ideal for ground cover between the roots of trees or bushes, in shade, in moist, occasionally dry, even heavy and compact soil.

Claytonia sibirica is a plant of the portulacaceae family, a cousin of sun-loving purslanes. This small short-lived perennial is native to the mountains of the American West and Siberia. It carpets the damp woods with numerous stoloniferous and leafy stems emerging from fleshy rosettes. It will not exceed 15 cm (6in) high when flowering and 20 cm (8in) wide for each plant. It only blooms once in its life, then disappears after ensuring its succession by producing numerous seeds. Its flowering period is remarkably long, from April to October, only pausing in summer in dry conditions (some plants may even disappear in summer). Each plant produces many star-shaped flowers with 5 petals, measuring 8 to 20mm (0 to 1in) in diameter, veined with pink on an almost white background. Its leaves are succulent, olive green, shiny, entire, and ovate. This plant has swollen taproots.

Siberian Claytonia is a vigorous ground cover to be used at the base of trees and on the edge of flower beds; it does not mind root competition and will multiply naturally. It even tolerates the dry soil at the base of conifers. It forms a magnificent setting for white flowering bulbs like royal lily, crinums, and Amaryllis belladona. It is a very simple plant, perfect for slightly wild areas and extremely easy to use and grow. It is also edible and can be used in salads.