Claytonia perfoliata

Donn. ex Willd.

Spring beauty, Cuban spinach, Petota, Miner's lettuce

Montiaceae Edible: Leaves, Stems, Flowers, Roots, Vegetable Potential hazards — see below 42,601 iNaturalist observations

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Summary

Source: Wikipedia

Claytonia perfoliata, commonly known as miner's lettuce or winter purslane, is a flowering plant in the family Montiaceae. It is an edible, fleshy, herbaceous, annual plant native to the western mountain and coastal regions of North America.

Description

A small herb. It grows each year from seed. It can grow 50 cm tall. It has a single stem and can be erect. The leaves are simple and in rings. They are broadly sword shaped. They can be up to 4 cm long. They have a long leaf stalk. The flowers are white or pink and have 5 parts. The flowers are in groups of 5-40.

Edible Uses

Leaves are edible raw or cooked and have a fairly bland, slightly mucilaginous character that works well in salads. Young leaves are the best choice; older leaves, particularly in summer or in hot, dry conditions, can turn bitter. Although individual leaves are small, they are produced in abundance and are easy to pick. Stalks and flowers can be eaten raw and make a pleasant addition to salads. The bulb is very small and labour-intensive to harvest; one report notes that boiled and peeled root tastes of chestnuts, though another report suggests the root system is fibrous, making this uncertain.

Traditional Uses

Young leaves, stems and flowers are edible raw. Older leaves are cooked. Roots are also edible cooked. Caution: It can at times have high levels of oxalates.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves act as a gentle laxative. The plant is rich in vitamin C and can be taken as an invigorating spring tonic and an effective diuretic. A poultice of mashed plant material has been applied to rheumatic joints.

Known Hazards

The common name of miner's lettuce refers to how the plant was used by miners during the California Gold Rush, who ate it to prevent scurvy. It is in season in April and May, and can be eaten as a leaf vegetable. The entire plant is edible, except the roots, and it provides vitamin C. Most commonly, it is eaten raw in salads, but it is not quite as delicate as cultivated lettuce. Sometimes, it is boiled like spinach, which it resembles in taste and chemical composition. Caution should be used because wild C. perfoliata can sometimes accumulate toxic amounts of sodium oxalate (as can happen in spinach). The plant is known as palsingat or, possibly, lahchumeek in Ivilyuat and it was eaten fresh or boiled as a green by the Ivilyuqaletem (Cahuilla) people of Southern California. It, along with Claytonia exigua, is available for gathering in the early spring.

Distribution

It is a temperate plant. It is a temperate plant. It suits cool, damp conditions. It is best in a sunny position and dry soil. It suits a pH between 6 and 7. It needs a frost free period of 6 weeks. In Argentina it grows between 500-1,000 m above sea level. It can tolerate cold weather. It suits hardiness zones 6-9.

Where It Grows

Alaska, Argentina, Australia, Britain, Canada, Central America, Central Europe, Cuba, Europe, Falklands, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, North America, Siberia, Slovenia, South America, Switzerland, USA, West Indies,

Cultivation

Prefers a moist peaty soil. It is often found growing wild on sandy soils. An easily grown plant, it can succeed on very poor and dry soils. Plants grow well the dappled shade of trees, producing a better quality crop in such a situation. Although only an annual, it usually self-sows when well sited. A very hardy plant, tolerating temperatures down to at least -15°c. Miner's lettuce is occasionally cultivated as a salad plant. It's main value is as a reliable producer of leaves in the winter, though it can provide leaves all year round. It can be grown as a cut and come again crop. A self-seeding annual. A clumping mat former. Forming a dense prostrate carpet spreading indefinitely.

Propagation

Sow seed in spring or autumn in situ. Germination is usually rapid.

Other Uses

Although an annual, this species makes an excellent ground cover in cool, acid soil under trees, where it typically self-sows freely and grows year-round.

Production

It is fast growing and short lived.

Other Information

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable.

Notes

Also put in the family Portulacaceae.

Synonyms

Claytonia perfoliata. Montia perfoliata (Donn ex Willd.)

References (36)

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Bocek, B. R., 1984, Ethnobotany of Costanoan Indians, California, Based on Collections by John P. Harrington. Economic Botany 38(2): 240-255
Bremness, L., 1994, Herbs. Collins Eyewitness Handbooks. Harper Collins. p 257 (As Montia perfoliata)
Cribb, A.B. & J.W., 1976, Wild Food in Australia, Fontana. p 136 (As Montia perfoliata)
Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 385 (As Montia perfoliata)

Show all 36 references

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Erythea 1:38. 1893 (As Montia perfoliata)
Esperanca, M. J., 1988. Surviving in the wild. A glance at the wild plants and their uses. Vol. 2. p 88 (As Montia perfoliata)
Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 187 (As Montia perfoliata)
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 203 (As Claytonia perfoliata)
Heywood, V.H., Brummitt, R.K., Culham, A., and Seberg, O., 2007, Flowering Plant Families of the World. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. p 265 (As Claytonia perfoliata)
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