Claytonia perfoliata

Claytonia perfoliata (syn. Montia perfoliata), also known as miner's lettuce, Indian lettuce, spring beauty, or winter purslane, is a flowering plant in the family Montiaceae. It is a fleshy, herbaceous, annual plant native to the western mountain and coastal regions of North America, from southernmost Alaska and central British Columbia, all the way south to Central America, but most common in California in the Sacramento and northern San Joaquin Valleys.

Claytonia perfoliata
Claytonia perfoliata subsp. perfoliata growing wild in Washington Park, Anacortes, Washington
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Montiaceae
Genus: Claytonia
Species:
C. perfoliata
Binomial name
Claytonia perfoliata
Synonyms[1]
  • Claytonia cubensis Bonpl.
  • Claytonia spathulata Douglas nom. illeg.
  • Limnia angustifolia (Greene) Rydb.
  • Limnia carnosa (Greene) A. Heller ex Rydb.
  • Limnia mexicana Rydb.
  • Limnia perfoliata (Donn ex Willd.) Haw.
  • Limnia spathulata (Douglas ex Hook.) A. Heller
  • Montia mexicana (Rydb.) Pax & K. Hoffm.
  • Montia perfoliata (Donn ex Willd.) Howell
  • Montia spathulata (Douglas ex Hook.) Howell

Together with Claytonia parviflora and C. rubra, C. perfoliata comprises what is almost certainly a polyploid pillar complex,[2] which is based on three diploid species.[3] Two key studies on the population ecology and genetics of the C. perfoliata complex were published in 2012.[4][5]

Description

Claytonia perfoliata is a tender rosette-forming plant that grows to some 30 centimetres (12 in) in height,[6] but mature plants can be as short as 1 centimetre (0.39 in). The cotyledons are usually bright green (rarely purplish- or brownish-green), succulent, long and narrow. The first true leaves form a rosette at the base of the plant, and are 0.5 to 4 centimetres (0.20 to 1.57 in) long, with a typically long petiole (exceptionally up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long).

The small pink or white flowers have five petals 2 to 6 millimetres (0.079 to 0.236 in) long. The flowers appear from February to May or June and are grouped 5–40 together. The flowers grow above a pair of leaves that are connected together around the stem so as to appear as a single circular leaf. Mature plants form a rosette; they have numerous erect to spreading stems that branch from the base.

C. perfoliata is common in the springtime, and prefers a cool, damp environment. The plant first appears in sunlit areas after the first heavy rains of the year, though the best stands are found in shaded areas, especially in the uplands, into early summer. As the days get hotter and drier, the leaves turn a deep red color as they dry out.

Subspecies

There are three well-studied geographical subspecies of C. perfoliata:[7]

Uses

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.[8] It is in season in April and May, and can be eaten as a leaf vegetable.[9] The entire plant is edible, except the roots, and it provides vitamin C.[10] 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 soluble oxalates (also present in spinach).[11]

It has been widely naturalized in western Europe, after being introduced there in the eighteenth century, possibly by the naturalist Archibald Menzies, who brought it to Kew Gardens in London in 1794.[12][13]

  • Flower petals are 2 to 6 millimetres (0.079 to 0.236 in) long
  • Basal leaves are petiolate and cordate
  • Cauline leaves are perfoliate
  • Miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata) served as a salad

Other names

Claytonia perfoliata is called piyada̠ʼ in the Western Mono language, a Native American language of California.[14]

References
  1. "The Plant List: A working list of all plant species". Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Missouri Botanic Garden. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  2. McIntyre, P. J. 2012. Cytogeography and genome size variation in the Claytonia perfoliata (Portulacaceae) polyploid complex. Annals of Botany (Oxford) 110(6): 1195-203
  3. Miller, J. M. and K. L. Chambers. 2006. Systematics of Claytonia (Portulacaceae). Systematic Botany Monographs 78: 1-236 ISBN 0-912861-78-9
  4. McIntyre, P. J. 2012. Cytogeography and genome size variation in the Claytonia perfoliata (Portulacaceae) polyploid complex. Annals of Botany (Oxford) 110(6): 1195-203.
  5. McIntyre, P. J. 2012. Polyploidy associated with altered and broader ecological niches in the Claytonia perfoliata (Portulacaceae) species complex. American Journal of Botany 99(4): 655-62.
  6. Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982]. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. New York: Sterling. p. 95. ISBN 978-1-4027-6715-9. OCLC 244766414.
  7. Miller, J. M and K. L. Chambers. 2006. Systematics of Claytonia (Portulacaceae). Systematic Botany Monographs 78: 1-236. ISBN 0-912861-78-9
  8. See:
  9. Lyons, C. P. (1956). Trees, Shrubs and Flowers to Know in Washington (1st ed.). Canada: J. M. Dent & Sons. p. 106.
  10. Nyerges, Christopher (2016). Foraging Wild Edible Plants of North America: More than 150 Delicious Recipes Using Nature's Edibles. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-4930-1499-6.
  11. "Miner's Lettuce". UC IPM Online. UC Davis.
  12. Hank Shaw (March 7, 2011). "Foraging for Miner's Lettuce, America's Gift to Salad". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2013-04-06.
  13. Archibald Menzies (1923). Menzies' Journal of Vancouver's Voyage, April to October, 1792 [extract]. W. H. Cullin Printers. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
  14. "A Dictionary of Western Mono: Second Edition"
  • McIntyre, P. J. 2012. Cytogeography and genome size variation in the Claytonia perfoliata (Portulacaceae) polyploid complex. Annals of Botany (Oxford) 110(6): 1195-203.
  • McIntyre, P. J. 2012. Polyploidy associated with altered and broader ecological niches in the Claytonia perfoliata (Portulacaceae) species complex. American Journal of Botany 99(4): 655-62.
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