Claytonia gypsophiloides
Encyclopedia
Claytonia gypsophiloides is a species of wildflower in the purslane family
Portulacaceae
Portulacaceae are a family of flowering plants, comprising about 20 genera with about 500 species, ranging from herbaceous plants to shrubs. The family has been recognised by most taxonomists, and is also known as the purslane family; it has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the highest diversity...

 known by the common names gypsum springbeauty and Coast Range claytonia. It is endemic to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, where it grows in the Coast Ranges from the North Coast Ranges to the Temblor Range
Temblor Range
The Temblor Range is a mountain range within the California Coast Ranges, at the southwestern extremity of the San Joaquin Valley in California in the United States. It runs in a northwest-southeasterly direction along the borders of Kern County and San Luis Obispo County. The name of the range is...

. It can usually be found in moist areas with rocky soils, often serpentine
Serpentine soil
A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....

. It is an annual herb producing an erect stem 15 to 25 centimeters in maximum height. The fleshy basal leaves are linear in shape and up to 15 centimeters long. The pair leaves at midpoint on the stem vary in shape. They may be linear and separate, fused along one side, or completely fused into a disc surrounding the stem. The leaves are gray-green, beige, or pinkish in color. The stalked inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

is up to 15 centimeters long and bears up to 30 flowers. Each has 5 pink and white petals which are oval-shaped with a notched tip.

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