Groceries were not in steady supply in gold rush days, and if you were on the claim or at a big mine, it was a day’s trip to town to get them. Honestly, I wouldn’t exactly class it with survival food or campfire beans. Unlike its more common eastern purslane relative, Portulaca oleracea, which was introduced from India and Persia centuries ago and is both an invasive weed and highly nutritional edible plant, miner’s lettuce leaves are refined and delicate, not thick and mucilaginous. If you are searching for a ground cover to incorporate in the landscape, look no farther than Claytonia miners lettuce. When you just can’t wait any longer for spring, miner’s lettuce is ready to harvest, even earlier than fiddleheads, chickweed, or mint. There it gets the draining water from the seedling flats above and protection from the strengthening February sun. It was a plentiful green, and its high vitamin C levels kept scurvy among the miners at bay. The plants may over-winter outside in zones 6 and 7 in a protected spot. Perfoliata comes from Latin. Once picked, miner’s lettuce leaves will last in a plastic bag in the fridge for 3 to 5 days without too much loss of quality. Four to six weeks before the last spring frost, direct seed miner’s lettuce one-quarter inch deep, one half inch apart, in rows eight to 12 inches apart. It is grown as a “cut and come again” crop, forming small, neat mounds, each plant providing three to four harvests. Category Synonym(s): miner's-lettuce EDDMapS Distribution: This map is incomplete and is based only on current site and county level reports made by experts and records obtained from USDA Plants Database. The whole plant may be eaten—stem, leaf, and flower. It grows through the quahog shells on the floor and seems to enjoy the dappled shade under the benches best of all. Potentially invasive in disturbed bushland. MINER'S LETTUCE: Claytonia perfoliata: Member $3.95. All parts of this plant are edible and it grows well in the colder months providing a refreshing salad alternative in the depths of winter. It has “naturalized” in my cold greenhouse, reappearing in late February and March, having that little bit of cover from the elements outside. – miner's lettuce Subordinate Taxa The Plants Database includes the following 3 subspecies of Claytonia perfoliata . A sprinkle of sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil turn it into culinary delight. 7 This is a small family. Claytonia perfoliata Donn ex Willd. Last updated October 2018    /    Privacy, Joseph M. DiTomaso, University of California - Davis, Bugwood.org, D. Walters and C. Southwick, USDA, Bugwood.org, This map is incomplete and is based only on current site and county level He served as a surgeon on a number of British exploratory missions, which included to North America. Incredibly succulent with melt-in-your-mouth texture and a subtle earthy flavor, this raw salad green is not a “last resort” winter vegetable but rather one you’ll be craving all year long. Miner's Lettuce are one of the greens available in Spring. In addition, it is very high in protein. Miner’s lettuce is a small, slightly succulent, herbaceous annual plant which is light green and has round and disk like leaves surrounding smooth and tender stem. Even when in flower it does not become bitter, although in hot weather it tends to wither away, returning once the summer season ends. Invasive Listing Sources: Website developed by The University of Georgia - Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health and the National Park Service in cooperation with the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England , Invasive Plant Control, Inc. , USDA Forest Service , Everything old is new again, and edible landscaping is an example of this adage. Miner’s Lettuce on Your Dinner Table Archibald Menzies (1754-1842) was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist. It also can be found growing in virgin fields of wheatgrass and bluegrass. The Invasive Cyberlord does indeed have a gimmick to its 3 upgrade beams that sit above the furnace, each multiplying ore value by x1.25 for a total of ~x1.95 if the ore hits all 3. ssp. The plant is self-fertile. It is very attractive and can stand alone in the flower garden as a border plant or bed cover. Nothing could be further from the truth. Claytonia perfoliata is a ANNUAL growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in). Copyright ©2020 Edible Cape Cod. reports made by experts and records obtained from USDA Plants Database. Native American peoples, wild foragers, and sustainable … Females puncture leaves to feed on plant sap and lay eggs within the leaf tissues. Miner’s lettuce is sometimes used, short term (about three months from each sowing), as an ornamental in gardens and flower boxes. This fleshy annual plant belongs to Western Mountain and coastal regions of North America from southernmost Alaska and central British Columbia south to Central America, but most common in California in the Sacramento and northern San Joaquin valleys. Miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata, sometimes found as Montia perfoliata) has that name because the gold miners used it for hard-to-find greens. Adults are small black to gray flies with yellow markings. Miner’s lettuce is a perennial vegetable native to much of the western United States and Canada. Miner's Lettuce - Claytonia perfoliata Edible plant - novice Other common names: Winter Purslane, Indian Purslane, Spring Beauty Scientific name meaning: Clayton is arrived from the name of a botanists in the 1600s - John Clayton. It has become naturalized in Europe because of its use as a vegetable. There are roughly 230 species of Miner's Lettuce. Other wild greens available through summer are nutritious and an excellent addition to many mushroom dishes. The blossoms are as edible as nasturtiums, which, to me, is a hard find in the edible flower world. Unlike its more common eastern purslane relative, Portulaca oleracea, which was introduced from India and Persia centuries ago and is both an invasive weed and highly nutritional edible plant, miner’s lettuce leaves are refined and delicate, not thick and mucilaginous. About Miner’s Lettuce. As the plant blooms, there is small white and pinkish color flower that grows on top of its rounded leaves. Miner’s lettuce got its name during the gold rush when fresh vegetables were hard to come by. A cold frame or unheated greenhouse is as much as it needs here to grow all winter long. In the 1970s and 80s miner’s lettuce had a surge of popularity during the heyday of Alice Waters and the legendary Chez Panisse’s fresh, local, and sustainable farm-to-table movement in California. Image 5386368 is of miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata ) flower(s). The stem passes directly through the round leaf and this makes identification easy. Much like most lettuce varieties, when summer heats up so does the lettuce, finding its leaves red and dried out in extreme heat conditions. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to July. The University of Georgia - Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils. A few years ago, when I wanted miners lettuce for the kitchen, I had to order it from special purveyors on the West Coast, and it would usually come in anywhere from 10-20$/lb-an insanely high price for salad greens, but, as a chef that values wild ingredients, and hates micro greens, miner’s lettuce gave me another green to use as a garnish that was unique, beautiful, and delicate. But if you live in the area where it’s native, this is a fantastic native wild vegetable that you can easily grow on your wild homestead.. Miner’s lettuce, Winter Purslane, Spring Beauty, or Indian lettuce; is a fleshy annual plant native to the western mountain and coastal regions of North America from southernmost Alaska and central British Columbia south, but is most common in Northern California. It thrives in both sun and shade, provided it has adequate moisture. Late winter and spring are its natural season, but that season can be extended simply by planting it in succession, and insuring it is kept moist throughout its growth cycle. Not a lettuce at all, Claytonia is in the Portulacaceae or purslane family. Miner’s lettuce is light green in colour, and has round, disk-like leaves, which surround its smooth, tender stem. It was once classified as part of the purslane family (Claytonia), but has since been put into its own class (Monticeae). 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