Red Maids; Calandrinia ciliata
Early Bloomer. Five small, round red-pink petals, low growing in open areas. Seeds and foliage edible, blooms only in bright sunlight.
Notes: Purslane family. Blooms only in the sun, and are scarcely noticeable when closed. The tiny black seeds were prized by the Maidu as a food source; as in many of the purslanes (e.g. Miner’s Lettuce) the leaves are tasty. Seeds are also eaten by birds. The genus Calandrinia has about 150 species. J. L. Calandrini was an 18th century Swiss botanist. Ciliata means ‘fringed’ in reference to the fine hairs on the edges of the sepals.
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Kingdom Plantae -- Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants
Superdivision Spermatophyta -- Seed plants
Division Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants
Class Magnoliopsida -- Dicotyledons
Subclass Caryophyllidae
Order Caryophyllales
Family Portulacaceae -- Purslane family
Genus Calandrinia Kunth -- redmaids
Species Calandrinia ciliata (Ruiz & Pavón) DC.
-- fringed redmaids
Red Maids (Calandrinia ciliata) |
Red Maids (Calandrinia ciliata), closer view |
Red Maids (Calandrinia ciliata), extreme close-up |