#claytonia

[jillraggett]

Plant of the Day

Saturday 7 June 2025

In this woodland the annual or short-lived perennial Claytonia sibirica (pink purslane, Chinese chickweed, miner's lettuce, Siberian purslane) was forming a flowering ground-cover. This North American native plant has clusters of small, pink or white flowers in late spring and early summer. The succulent foliage is said to have an earthy flavour almost beetroot like flavour.

Jill Raggett

[uxbridge]

Strawberry Hill cemetery in spring

[continent-of-wild-endeavor]

Spring Beauty - Claytonia virginica

At least I think so. It's odd in that it has no pink to the petals at all, so I doubted myself after looking at the picture, but that's probably down to natural variation, and idk what else it would be.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

I'm always amazed at how many native plants have survived in my childhood neighborhood here in Missouri in spite of the prevalence of lawns and their related chemicals, plus general habitat degradation. I see Virginia springbeauty (Claytonia virginica) everywhere, on the fringes of wooded areas and stubbornly persisting in amid grassy yards that also sport non-native species like dandelions and henbit. It reminds me of the candyflower (Claytonia siberica) back home in the PNW, which is not quite as rebellious against the sterility of lawns, but will still elbow out space if given half a chance.

[faguscarolinensis]

Claytonia virginica / Virginia Springbeauty at Penny's Bend Nature Preserve in Durham, NC

[thesaltytusky]

There’s an abundance of food beneath your feet if you know what to look for

[botaniqueer]

I also did a mini harvest of miners lettuce and Hon Tsai Tai Purple Yu Choy Sum! Brassicacaea get fibrous when they flower but if the growth is new enough you can still eat it. I just bagged the flowers and leaves and tossed the older stems.

Miners lettuce is culinarily similar to true lettuce (meaning mostly it’s crunchy water but miners lettuce does have vitamin C in it which is why miners used it to prevent scurvy!) It’s also surprisingly easy to harvest! Upon flowering the form crowns that are easy to lift off the ground since they’re not rooted strongly.

[drhoz]

#2918 - Claytonia perfoliata - Miner's Lettuce

AKA Winter Purslane. The genus in general are known as Spring Beauties. indigenous names include palsingat or, possibly, lahchumeek in Ivilyuat.

It was eaten fresh or boiled as a green by the Ivilyuqaletem (Cahuilla) people of Southern California, and by gold miners during the California Gold Rush, despite potentially toxic levels of sodium oxalate on occasion. The tuberous roots are also edible.

Native from Mexico to British Columbia, but widely naturalized in western Europe, Argentina and New Zealand. As of 2019 it's also as far inland as Arkansas.

San Francisco, USA