| Miner's Lettuce, Claytonia perfoliata |
| Family | Purslane (Portulacaceae) | Height | 4-12 in. |
| Color | White or occas. pink | Flowers | Tiny 5 petaled white flowers in clusters |
| Blooms | February - May | Leaves | Unusual circular leaves |
| Habitat | Most common in moist areas of Woodlands and Chaparral | ||
White or pink flowers float above unique circular leaves. Miner's lettuce is edible and has a high vitamin C content. Gold miners used to eat it to stave off scurvy -- hence the common name. Another species, Claytonia parviflora can also be found in the area. The two plants can be difficult to distinguish. Usually C. parviflora leaves are more paddle shaped than circular but this is not always the case. |
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add image to lightboxReferences
Wildflowers of Norther California's Wine Country & North Coast Ranges. Cloverdale, CA: New Creek Ranch Press, 2007.
Mount Diablo Wildflowers. Walnut Creek, CA: Mt. Diablo Interpretive Association, 2005.
Beidleman, Linda H., and Eugene N. Kozloff. Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region: Mendocino to Monterey. Berekeley, CA: University of California, 2003.
http://www.calflora.org/