Miner's lettuce, or Claytonia perfoliata, is a broadleaf annual plant in the Portulacaceae, or purslane, family.The species is native to the western and north-western parts of North America. Females puncture leaves to feed on plant sap and lay eggs within the leaf tissues. There it gets the draining water from the seedling flats above and protection from the strengthening February sun. Category So mark your calendars in late summer for miner’s lettuce seed sowing. It is by Joseph M. DiTomaso at University of California - Davis. It is found throughout California (except for the lower desert areas) to about 6600 feet (2000 m). In addition, it is very high in protein. They do not like root disturbance, so sow in situ. The miner’s lettuce is considered as weeds in some areas. Invasive Plants in Pennsylvania: Water Lettuce (PDF | 376 KB) Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. It was once classified as part of the purslane family (Claytonia), but has since been put into its own class (Monticeae). Nothing could be further from the truth. 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. It is also helpful in controlling early season invasions of weeds and unwanted grasses in fields and orchards. reports made by experts and records obtained from USDA Plants Database. 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. After 2 to 4 days eggs hatch and larvae feed between the upper and lower surface of the leaves, making distinctive winding, whitish tunnels or mines that are often the first clue that leafminers are present. Flowers. 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. A fleshy succulent green that was eaten by miners in California to stave off scurvy. Miner's lettuce can be fairly common wild food, and in ideal habitats it can be almost overwhelmingly common. It is by Joseph M. DiTomaso at University of California - Davis. Native American peoples, wild foragers, and sustainable … It is not frost tender. It is called "miner's lettuce" because during the California Gold Rush miners ate it for its high vitamin C content, which helped them avoid a condition called scurvy. Miner’s lettuce is has a very high content of Vitamin C, A and other vitamins and minerals - hence the name: miners in the 1800s ate the plant to prevent scurvy. Miner’s lettuce is a perennial vegetable native to much of the western United States and Canada. The whole plant may be eaten—stem, leaf, and flower. The other common names of this plant are Indian lettuce, spring beauty, winter purslane, or miner’s lettuce. Walking around the house today, I saw miner's lettuce--Claytonia perfoliata--growing everywhere.It's hard to miss with its signature circular leaf on a stalk. 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. The minute white flowers are very subtle and attractive to birds. Miner’s lettuce self-seeds readily and the seed heads mature quickly on the plant, so that once planted it will reappear season after season with only the most basic protection in our planting zone. 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. Website developed by The University of Georgia - Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health and the National Park Servicein cooperation with the Invasive Plant Atlas of New England, Invasive Plant Control, Inc., USDA Forest Service,USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, National Association of Exotic Pest Plant Councils,Plant Conservation Alliance, and Biota of North America Program. Miners Lettuce is one of the loveliest salad mix ingredients you can grow. After the plant has bloomed,there is a small white or pinkish colour flower growing on top of its rounded leaves. Miner's lettuce, a native winter annual broadleaf plant, is part of a complex of species and subspecies with slightly varying characteristics. Image 5386368 is of miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata ) flower(s). Forty days from seed to salad, miner’s lettuce is truly a native, American edible. Thus the original name, miner’s lettuce, since it was used by the miners during the gold rush. This was quite rare for a weed, as almost all of our edible weeds here in North America—dandelion, plantain, purslane, chickweed—are of European origin, brought over as edible plants or hitching rides by attaching their sticky or thistle-like, opportunistic claws on luggage or on ballast rocks in the bilge of ships. Claytonia perfoliata Donn ex Willd. Miner’s lettuce is a dicot angiosperm recently moved into the new family Montiaceae from the purslane family (Portulacaeae) on the basis of molecular evidence. Invasive Cyberlord is a Reborn-tier furnace released in the Reincarnation Update. How to Grow Miner’s Lettuce. MINER'S LETTUCE: Claytonia perfoliata: Member $3.95. Miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata, sometimes found as Montia perfoliata) has that name because the gold miners used it for hard-to-find greens. 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 “naturalized” in my cold greenhouse, reappearing in late February and March, having that little bit of cover from the elements outside. "Per" means "through" and foliata, refers to the foliage. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to July. 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 was a plentiful green, and its high vitamin C levels kept scurvy among the miners at bay. It's especially common in moist, shady areas, often near the bases of trees or in shady groves. 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. The blossoms are as edible as nasturtiums, which, to me, is a hard find in the edible flower world. 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. The plants may over-winter outside in zones 6 and 7 in a protected spot. The tender, crisp leaves average 2-15 centimeters in diameter and grow in a rosette pattern, changing shape from lance, heart-shaped, to rounded as the plant matures. There are roughly 230 species of Miner's Lettuce. 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 , 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. A delicious late winter alternative to nothing, miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) is the iceberg lettuce of wild foods, ready to harvest at a time of year when nothing else grows. Everything old is new again, and edible landscaping is an example of this adage. 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.. 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 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. Wild miner's lettuce can be found west of the Rockies in temperate areas, and is especially common in Northern California. Easily encountered and extremely high in vitamin C (a 2-cup single serving contains a third of the daily requirement) it was a lifesaver in preventing scurvy. 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. Other wild greens available through summer are nutritious and an excellent addition to many mushroom dishes. Perhaps only next to watercress, miner’s lettuce is America’s premier wild salad green. It thrives in both sun and shade, provided it has adequate moisture. For more information, visit. See also: Invasive Plant Fact Sheets for plant species (trees, shrubs, vines, herbs and aquatic plants) that have impacted the state's natural lands The stem passes directly through the round leaf and this makes identification easy. One other genus, Calandrinia (red maids) is found in the Reserve. Description/Taste Miner’s lettuce is small in size consisting of slender, trailing vines that have round, disk-like leaves. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Potentially invasive in disturbed bushland. The best leaves grow under trees. rosette. Even when in flower it does not become bitter, although in hot weather it tends to wither away, returning once the summer season ends. It also can be found growing in virgin fields of wheatgrass and bluegrass. The miner’s lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) is actually a flowering plant in the Montiaceae family and is a fleshy plant. It grows through the quahog shells on the floor and seems to enjoy the dappled shade under the benches best of all. About Miner’s Lettuce. The seeds are tiny, so barely cover them. Native and growing wild in California, particularly abundant in the Pacific Northwest, it was a favorite of the starved forty-niners in the days of the gold rush. It is also called by many other names such as spring beauty, Indian lettuce and Winter purslane. Miner’s lettuce is sometimes used, short term (about three months from each sowing), as an ornamental in gardens and flower boxes. Miner’s lettuce is perfectly fine when in flower — unlike most spring greens — but pick before the flower stalk gets too long. Copyright ©2020 Edible Cape Cod. Claytonia perfoliata is a ANNUAL growing to 0.2 m (0ft 8in). If you are searching for a ground cover to incorporate in the landscape, look no farther than Claytonia miners lettuce. Adults are small black to gray flies with yellow markings. Not a lettuce at all, Claytonia is in the Portulacaceae or purslane family. It is grown as a “cut and come again” crop, forming small, neat mounds, each plant providing three to four harvests. Miner's Lettuce is a lovely little plant often looked on as a weed (as it can be invasive). Miner's Lettuce are one of the greens available in Spring. Honestly, I wouldn’t exactly class it with survival food or campfire beans. 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. This map identifies those states that list this species on their invasive species list or law. 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. 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 The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Flies. The plant is self-fertile. The stems are crunchy and as delicious as the leaf. When you just can’t wait any longer for spring, miner’s lettuce is ready to harvest, even earlier than fiddleheads, chickweed, or mint. Miners lettuce colonizes disturbed areas, especially those that experienced fires in previous seasons. – miner's lettuce Subspecies: Claytonia perfoliata Donn ex Willd. Image 5386369 is of miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata ) plant(s). 7 This is a small family. It has become naturalized in Europe because of its use as a vegetable.