All the images show multiple petals. This clearly has only five. Is this variation acceptable to this ID?
Skip my answer -- 5 hours sleep each of the past few nights, and this is the second botanically bone-headed thing I've done today. Definitely not Lewisia, which is a western North American genus. I'm still somewhat in favour of a member of the Portulacaceae, though, based on foliage.
Here is a link that might help: http://public.fotki.com/bottomdolla...ulacac/portulacaceae_pursl/c_acutifolia1.html
Hi I find the ID as a Portulacaceae convincing. Although we were North and west of the Bering Sea (Chukchi Sea to be exact), the Bering Sea Springbeauty is a real possibility. Thanks. There are no guides to this arctic region that are easy to use but we can hope that as more people visit the region, that a guide will be forthcoming.
The name usually does not tell much about the distribution area. It tells where it was first identified. By the way, your title indicates "western Siberia", although Chukchi Sea is rather at the eastern side and includes the Alaska coast where the link of terrestrial man shows.
