Virginia spring beauty is native to North America.
Identification: Plants are a mere 3-9″ (7.6-22 cm) tall, poking hopefully out
of the forest litter in the spring. Leaves are narrow and grasslike in shape, technically linear to lanceolate. They have more of a leathery texture, but at a size of about 1½″ (3.8 cm) ×
¼″ (6.3 mm), they are easy to miss. Stems support a few flowers, each about ½″ (1.3 cm) around,
drooping when the flowers are closed. Each white flower has five rounded petals, and beautiful pink veins, though sometimes
the veins are very faint. Blooms appear in April.
Edibility: The tubers, roots that resemble small potatoes,
are up to 8″ (20 cm) in diameter. Their flavor is variously described as nutty, radish-like when raw,
or like a potato and a chestnut when cooked (see Plants for a Future).