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Claytonia perfoliata

Common name:	Miner's Lettuce	Family:	Portulacaceae
Author:	Donn. ex Willd.	Botanical references:	17, 60
Synonyms:	Montia perfoliata ((Donn. ex Willd.)Howell.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	N. America. Naturalized in Britain.
Habitat:	Disturbed and waste ground, moist banks and slopes, often in partial shade, especially on light soils[17, 85]. Also found on rather dry sandy soils[50].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	4	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. perfoliata ssp. perfoliata[B,C,CAL,,P] C. perfoliata var. angustifolia[B,P] Limnia perfoliata[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Miner's Lettuce [H,P], Miner's-lettuce [B,FEIS], Winter Purslane [H], Witte Winterpostelein [D],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	perfoliata = leaves joined around stem
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Purslane family

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.15m. It is not frost tender. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to July. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Flies. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 4/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in full shade (deep woodland) semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade, Shady Edge, Deep Shade, Ground Cover.

Edible Uses

Flowers Leaves Root.

Leaves - raw or cooked[2, 5, 12, 27, 52, 62]. A fairly bland flavour with a mucilaginous texture, it is quite nice in a salad[183, K]. The young leaves are best[85], older leaves can turn bitter especially in the summer and if the plant is growing in a hot dry position[K]. Although individual leaves are fairly small, they are produced in abundance and are easily picked[K].
Stalks and flowers - raw[52]. A nice addition to the salad bowl[K].
Bulb - raw[5, 53, 62]. Although very small and labour-intensive to harvest, the boiled and peeled root has the flavour of chestnuts[244]. Another report says that the plant has a fibrous root system[62] so this report seems to be erroneous[K].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antirheumatic Laxative.

The leaves are gently laxative[94]. Apart from its value as a nourishing vegetable that is rich in vitamin C, it can also be taken as an invigorating spring tonic and an effective diuretic[254].
A poultice of the mashed plants has been applied to rheumatic joints[257].

Other Uses

Ground cover.

Although only an annual, this species makes an excellent ground cover in a cool acid soil under trees. In such a position it usually self-sows freely[208] and grows all year round[K].

Cultivation details

Prefers a moist peaty soil[1, 60]. It is often found growing wild on sandy soils[264]. An easily grown plant, it can succeed on very poor and dry soils[52, 60]. Plants grow well the dappled shade of trees, producing a better quality crop in such a situation[52, 60, 264]. Although only an annual[208], 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[1, 46]. It's main value is as a reliable producer of leaves in the winter, though it can provide leaves all year round[141, 200, 264]. It can be grown as a cut and come again crop[183].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ. The seed usually germinates rapidly.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Claytonia perfoliata ssp. perfoliata (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Montia perfoliata (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for claytonia perfoliata (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Portulacaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[27] Vilmorin. A. The Vegetable Garden. Ten Speed Press ISBN 0-89815-041-8
A reprint of a nineteenth century classic, giving details of vegetable varieties. Not really that informative though.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[52] Larkcom. J. Salads all the Year Round. Hamlyn 1980
A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.

[53] De. Bray. L. The Wild Garden.
Interesting reading.

[60] Hitchcock. C. L. Vascular Plants of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press 1955
A standard flora for Western N. America with lots of information on habitat etc. Five large volumes, it is not for the casual reader.

[62] Elias. T. and Dykeman. P. A Field Guide to N. American Edible Wild Plants. Van Nostrand Reinhold 1982 ISBN 0442222009
Very readable.

[85] Harrington. H. D. Edible Native Plants of the Rocky Mountains. University of New Mexico Press 1967 ISBN 0-8623-0343-9
A superb book. Very readable, it gives the results of the authors experiments with native edible plants.

[94] Sweet. M. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Co. 1962 ISBN 0-911010-54-8
Useful wild plants in Western N. America. A pocket guide.

[141] Carruthers. S. P. (Editor) Alternative Enterprises for Agriculture in the UK. Centre for Agricultural Strategy, Univ. of Reading 1986 ISBN 0704909820
Some suggested alternative commercial crops for Britain. Readable. Produced by a University study group.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[208] Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons 1990 ISBN 0-460-12609-1
An excellent detailled book on the subject, very comprehensive.

[244] Phillips. R. & Foy. N. Herbs Pan Books Ltd. London. 1990 ISBN 0-330-30725-8
Deals with all types of herbs including medicinal, culinary, scented and dye plants. Excellent photographs with quite good information on each plant.

[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

[264] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Vegetables Macmillan Reference Books, London. 1995 ISBN 0 333 62640 0
Excellent and easily read book with good information and an excellent collection of photos of vegetables from around the world, including many unusual species.

Readers Comments

Weeds as a future source for human consumption

Martha D�az B (martha@ecologia.edu.mx) Thu Jun 28 17:02:26 2001

We reciently recieved this article on the use of various weeds in south america. We though that you might enjoy it.

Abstract

Weeds may constitute an additional food source for humans. Up to 66% of weed species are edible and abound in urban and agricultural environments. A total of 43 species were sampled in tropical areas in Coatepec Mexico (e.g. roadsides, urban vacant lots, streets, sugar cane and coffee plantations). A similar survey performed in a temperate area in Bariloche Argentina with 32 species sampled. At a greater geographic scale, a comparison between Mexican and Argentine weeds shows that, proportionately, the food parts vary a little between regions. In general, the uses go from leaves, seeds, roots, fruits, and flowers.

Link: Weeds as a future source for human consumption

Cross references: Plants: Acalypha wilkesiana, Amaranthus dubius, Amaranthus hybridus, Amaranthus spinosus, Anagallis arvensis, Alstroemeria aurea, Berberis buxifolia, Brassica rapa, Bidens odorata, Cichorius intybus, Cirsium vulgare, Cytisus scoparius, Chenopodium album, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum, Canna indica, Chenopodium ambrosioides, Commelina diffusa, Commelina erecta, Drymaria cordata, Drymaria gracilis, Galinsoga quadriradiata, Heliconia caribaea, Hydrocotyle bonariensis, Hydrocotyle mexicana, Ipomoea purpurea, Ipomoea tilliacea, Ipomoea triloba, Hypochoeris radicata, Lactuca serriola, Malus sylvestris, Medicago lupulina, Melilotus albus, Margaranthus sulphureus, Oenothera odorata, Osmorhiza chilensis, Oxalis corniculata, Oxalis latifolia, Phaseolus vulgaris, Piper auritum, Plantago hirtella, Plantago lanceolata, Portulaca oleracea, Papaver rhoeas, Rumex acetosella, Rumex longifolius, Rumex obtusifolius, Sida acuta, Sida glabra, Sida rhombifolia, Sida spinosa, Solanum nigrum, Sonchus oleraceus, Spilanthes americana, Sanguisorba minor, Silybum marianum, Sonchus asper, Sonchus oleraceus, Stellaria media, Taraxacum officinale, Tragopogon dubius, Tradescantia fluminensis, Tagetes micrantha, Trifolium repens, Tripogandra serrulata, Xanthosoma robustum, Youngia japonica. Genera: Mentha.

Weeds as a future source for human consumption

Klaus (allmendeperma@web.de) Thu Aug 16 16:12:55 2001

I really wonder what this has to do with montia perfoliata. The edible uses of weeds might be interesting, but not as a comment to this plant.

Claytonia perfoliata

Klaus (allmendeperma@web.de) Thu Aug 16 16:17:51 2001

In fact, the seed of a common german variety ("Winterportulak")just germinates rapidly when it had a cold period. Freshly ripe seed sown in the same summer needs up to 4-6 weeks to germinate. (This was told to me by Reinhard Ehrentraut, an organic farmer who produces the seed)

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