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Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
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Posted by Chuck_or z7 OR (My Page) on Tue, Oct 11, 05 at 11:50
| Does anyone here have any personal info about the edibility of Miner's Lettuce? It's native here and I was wondering if it could be useful as an early spring green. Thanks. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
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| It has a light,pleasant taste--not a weedy taste like so many wild plant leaves. Was supposedly eaten by miners on the west coast hence its name. |
RE: Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
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| chuck if you shop the farmers market or the high end grocery stores, you may have already eaten it! it is sold under the name "purslane", and is commonly found in "spring salad mix". the variety that grows here is similiar to watercress in texture, slightly more fiberous. its good all summer, not just in the spring. have heard that it can also be steamed or stir fried, and chock full of minerals. i like it with tomatoes, onions and some vinegarette. this message has been brought to you by the "way too expensive gourmet lettuce council" jeff"what time is dinner?" barber |
RE: Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
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actually, tho both are edible, Miners Lettuce doesnt look like Purslane. In Jeff's area, they might sell it as that tho...
Miners lettuce has the little flower coming out of the leaf, whereas purslane is a bit more like a very small flowered Portulaca.
I have seen Purslane sold as "verdolagas" in an international market, its used in Mexican cooking as far as I know. |
Here is a link that might be useful: pic of miners lettuce.
RE: Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
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Claytonia perfoliata is native on the West coast and seeds are sold by some mail order companies as a specialty salad plant. I believe it's more a cool weather plant for early Spring or Fall. The Eastern relative, Spring Beauty, is also edible but I've never seen it sold as an edible plant.
Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is an Old World plant from the same family as the Claytonias that grows as a common weed in cultivated soil. Some upright varieties with larger leaves are sold as a salad/vegetable. |
RE: Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
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It not only grows in the cooler Mountain areas of the west Coast, but in the drier inland areas of Eastern WA.
It really does taste great, but if you grow it, it can re-seed all over the place. 3 years ago I had been preparing a 14x60 area for my wildflowers/grasses in a location that had been previously covered in plastic and 4" of topsoil by the previous owners for at least 10 years. After I removed the plastic and cultivated the soil a bit, a gazillion Miner's Lettuce seedlings germinated.... 10 years under plastic!
I let a few grow to eat, but man-o-man did I have to pull ALOT! If only it had popped up in the Veggie garden space :) Vera |
RE: Miner's Lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)
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| Miner's Lettuce is a great choice for groundcover underneath shrubs and trees if you live in a place where it is native. Though it is an annual, it reseeds itself generously. The greatest value it has other than groundcover is as an edible green that is extremely high in Vitamin C. The California miners ate it to prevent scurvy, and they probably learned to use it this way from the Native Americans. |
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