Claytonia perfoliata 穿葉春美草, 印第安生菜, 礦工生菜, 春美人, 冬天馬菜

Common name: Springbeauty, Indian lettuce, miner's lettuce, winter purslane
Scientific name: Claytonia perfoliata 穿葉春美草, 春美人, 印第安生菜, 礦工生菜, 冬天馬菜Genus: Claytonia 春美草屬
Family: Montiaceae 水卷耳科*,  spring beauty family, miner's lettuce family

Remarks*: Claytonia was placed in Portulacaceae 馬齒莧科, the purslane family, previously. In the APG III system, Claytonia were moved to a newly adopted family - Montiaceae 水卷耳科. The differences between these two families morphologically are as follows:

a Fruit dehiscence circumscissile, top portion shed intact as a lid (operculum) -- Portulacaceae
b Fruit dehiscence valvate starting at the top, without true operculum -- Montiaceae

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. It can be eaten as a leaf vegetable.The entire plant is edible, except the roots, and it provides vitamin C. In North America the plant was appreciated by both native Indians and the gold miners in California. Hence, it is also called Indian lettuce.

The generic name Claytonia refers to a botanist of the 1600’s by the name of John Clayton, while its specific name, perfoliata is due to the perfoliate leaves which completely encircle the stem and are attached at the base of the plant.

Origin: Neophyte* (established after 1500 AD). It is native of western N. America. It was introduced into cultivation in 1794 and was first recorded in the wild in 1849.

Date:  28th March

appears beside and on the tree

a young plant

the base of the plant and the long-stalked leaves

The leaf above is actually formed by fusion of two opposite stem leaves. Flowering stalks appears from the middle of the fused leaves.

The back of the leaves.

5 petals, 5stamens

This flower has only three stamens (note the small yellow color of the anthers) at this stage, where are the other two?

2 green sepals

fruits?