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Native Plant Propagation Guidelines:
forbs

Claytonia perfoliata (miner's lettuce)

Category: 
forbs

miner's lettuce (photo by Moralea Milne)

Somewhat succulent annual or short-lived perennial herb with a slender taproot. Several flowering stems, ascending to erect, leafy, 5-30 cm tall. Numerous basal leaves, narrowly spoon-shaped to lance- or egg-shaped, long-stalked, 2-10 cm long. Two stem leaves, opposite and usually fused, forming a disk around the stem above mid-length. Flowers white or pinkish, stalked, nodding; two sepals; five petals 3-7 mm long; several to many flower clusters 1-8 cm long above the leaf disc (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994). Photo by Moralea Milne.

Scientific Name: 

Claytonia perfoliata Don ex Willd. (Montia perfoliata [Don ex Willd.] Howell)

Family: 
Portulacaceae
English Name: 
miner's lettuce
Other Names: 
spring beauty, winter purslane

Geographical Range and Habitat Requirements

Ecological Setting: 

Moist (at least in spring), open to shady, often sandy, forests, thickets, meadows. Common at low to medium elevations (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994). Southern B.C. east to Alberta and south through the Rocky Mountain and Pacific states to California (Young, 2001).

Soil Texture: 

Grows on a variety of substrates including sand, riverine silts, gravel, rock crevices, talus and scree; also found on burned sites (USDA, Forest Service Fire Effects Information System).

Nutrients: 
n/a
Soil Reaction and Salinity: 
n/a
Moisture Regime: 

Dry to fresh (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994).

Shade Tolerance: 

Shade tolerant on drier sites, moderately shade intolerant on moist sites (USDA, Forest Service Fire Effects Information System).

Successional Status: 

Facultative seral species. Occurs at all seral stages, often colonizing disturbed sites after fire (USDA, Forest Service Fire Effects Information System).

BEC Zone and GOE Community Status: 
n/a

Uses

Site Rehabilitation: 
n/a
Wildlife: 

Plants grazed by small mammals. Seeds eaten by birds. (USDA, Forest Service Fire Effects Information System).

Landscaping: 

Garden ground cover.

First Nations: 
n/a
Other Uses: 

Blossoms, leaves and stems are edible greens in the spring. Source of Vitamin C (USDA, Forest Service Fire Effects Information System).

Seed Propagation

Flowering Time: 

April to June

Fruit Ripening Time: 

33 to 90 days

Seed Collection Time: 

May to August

Crop Intervals: 

Annual

Number of Seeds per Kilogram: 
n/a
Seed Viability: 
n/a
Fruit and Seed Collection and Extraction: 

Collect seeds when mature fruits begin to split at maturity. Rub seed pods on screens to extract and to separate seeds from pods and chaff (Young, 2001).

Seed Storage: 

Store seeds dry at room temperature (Young, 2001).

Fruit/Seed Dormancy and Treatment: 

No pre-planting treatments are required. Direct seed into containers 5-7.5 cm apart in fall or early spring (Young, 2001).

Vegetative Propagation

n/a

Outplanting Characteristics and Requirements

Prefers moist organic soil. Mulching in the garden with sifted compost will prolong production (Botany.com: Encyclopaedia of Flowers and Plants).

Seed and Cutting Propagation Techniques

n/a

Additional Information and Photos

n/a