Miner’s lettuce at a public park in San Francisco.
Miner’s lettuce is one of the best wild greens you’ll ever taste, but, if you don’t have a place to harvest, it can cost you an arm and a leg. It was a real annomaly for me trying to find it in growing wild in the Midwest. Plenty of foraging books describe the green, but I just couldn’t seem to find it where I lived. That all changed once I went to San Francisco for the first time.
It seemed like after I stepped off the plane in the West Coast, miners lettuce was everywhere. It was on the boulevard, in the neighbors yard at our AirBnB, at the city parks, State Parks, and on and on. I’d never seen anything like it sans, say, dandelions back in Minnesota where I live.
Hidden between some rocks on a trail near a river in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona.
The next year, I went to Arizona, and I was shocked to see miners lettuce in large amounts at a few local trails in the Superstition Mountains. I remember dropping down on my knees, eating handful after handful of the mild, sweet tasting, juicy leaves. I’d never thought that I’d forage wild greens in Arizona, it was literally an oasis.
Picking miners lettuce in an oasis near the Superstition Mountains with my dad.
A few years ago, when I wanted miners lettuce for the kitchen, I had to order it from special purveyors on the West Coast, and it would usually come in anywhere from 10-20$/lb-an insanely high price for salad greens, but, as a chef that values wild ingredients, and hates micro greens, miner’s lettuce gave me another green to use as a garnish that was unique, beautiful, and delicate. That being said, it was still a once-in-a-while luxury purchase.
Miners lettuce has beautiful, cup-shaped leaves.
Growing Miners Lettuce
There are a few people I know that grow miners lettuce in the Midwest, but, as far as I know, none have succeeded in getting it to survive winter-kill yet, and they have to plant it fresh every year as an annual. I’d love to do it myself once I get a spot I can garden more intensively. I called some of my farmer friends before I wrote this, and two speculated that miners lettuce could be propagated in the Midwest if it was properly covered with mulch to insulate it from the cold temperatures of our Midwestern Winters. If you live in an area that’s a bit warmer though, like I allude to in the beggining of this post, finding, or growing this stuff won’t be a problem.
Different Species
The most common species of miners lettuce should be Claytonia perfoliata, but there are a number of different specie. Currently the only ones I’ve cooked with are the most classic (C. perfoliata), and the red version sometimes sold by purveyors which should be Claytonia rubra. Both are excellent greens to eat, and truthfully I could never really tell the differnce between the two, although the “red species” pictured below never had the cup-shaped leaves.
One more thing I just have to mention is the misnomer of describing this plant with the common name “spring beauty”. While they’re related, spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) is a completely different plant, and a woodland ephemeral that I occasionally eat the root of as a snack in the Midwesy-very different from miners lettuce. Such is the problems with common names.
An example of red miner’s lettuce I used to order from purveyors. The only thing red about it was it’s stem. The leaves looked slightly teardrop-shaped compared to the heart shaped leaves I usually see, too.
Eating and Enjoying
Notice that cooking isn’t part of the above. Miner’s lettuce is so fresh and clean tasting, that cooking it, at least in my opinion, unless you have an embarassment of the stuff, would be a waste, but my opinion on that is based on the fact that I rarely get to enjoy this plant.
A salad I made to introduce my father to miners lettuce: sprinkled on top of a cactus paddle and tomato salad. In all honesty though, I almost prefer to just eat raw handfuls from the ground as a treat on a hike.
When I eat miners lettuce, I eat it raw, in salad, dressed as minimally as possible, and at the last possible minute, or sprinkled raw on something as a garnish. Lemon juice or a dash of vinegar, and a touch of oil and salt is all you need to enjoy the fresh, green taste of this plant, so think twice about mixing it with other salad greens, or assasinating it with some kind of bottled dressing.
I live on the Central coast in California and while walking my dog about 5 miles inland in a rural area I noticed these little clumps of wild begonia-looking plants. So I took a couple of pictures and pulled up about 8 clumps to see if they would grow in pots. After googling the picture I took I find out they’re not begonias, but actually lettuce! Now instead of growing as an ornamental, I’ll be growing food. I need to research this, but does anyone have some did & donts to pass on?
Don’t eat it growing from the side of the road or areas that have been sprayed. I’m jealous! Miners lettuce is sooo good, but it has to be planted as an annual where I live. Know that it’s a self seeding perennial where you are, so be prepared for it to “make itself at home”. It’s a wonderful food plant.
WOW~
We live in San Francisco and our small back yard has been vigorously overgrown with what I just discovered is a great salad plant!!
It’s the only thing that competes with crabgrass, and both have been going into the compost bin. Fortunately I have not sprayed weed killer since they appeared.
Going outside now to harvest. Maybe I’ll even plant a crop.
THANK YOU for this article!
Now, it would be wonderful to know that those tiny plants with daisy-like flowers are edible. (Still entertaining no hope for crabgrass having a useful purpose.)
Ha. Good luck finding a use for crabgrass! I’m jealous of anyone who has miners lettuce in their backyard–the stuff is one of my favorites and it has to be planted as an annual in MN and WI. Good on you, and enjoy those delicious salads! A
Alan, thanks for the appreciation.
As you are a connoisseur, would you have any advice, e.g., harvest them older or younger; any special recipes that MiNers and WI lettuce fans have invented?
As for crabgrass, my last-ditch desperation stratagem is to make their roots, somehow, tasty but lethal to the invasion of gophers I’ve suffered. Hey, the gophers aren’t bothering my miner’s lettuce; is there a cure here? But maybe I am asking the wrong part of the country: isn’t there a team calling itself the golden gophers near you? Perhaps for gopher control I am barking down the wrong hole.
But our winter (rainy) is our growing season. Perhaps there’s a way to ship our crop to you for Thanksgiving?
Thanks again!
Well, miners lettuce is super forgiving, and unlike alot of other plants I don’t detect a lot of difference during the year as it grows, where many plants get very tough and fibrous. If I had a whole bunch, I’d probably cook some, but as it’s such a delicious salad green, I’d probably just stick to simple treatments like lemon and oil.
As far as gophers, I’d suspect they like peanut butter put in a trap. I eat woodchucks, snapping turtles, and all kinds of nuisance animals here, so I’d probably catch them and eat the buggers. Let me know if you need a recipe–my woodchuck stew would work well. Small herbivores are delicious.
Loved your article! We live in the mountains and minerslettuce comes up every year in our small garden. So good! Wish I had more people to share it with as our kids and grandkids disdain it! So hubby and I feast a few weeks til the next year. It is a visual delight to watch the stuff grow! Life up here in the 1800’s was so harsh, maybe miners lettuce was a source of encouragement as well as good nutrition!! So darn good!
I live in the idaho panhandle, the hillside on my property is covered in miners lettuce. I had no idea what it was, i enjoy the greenery and my kids pick the flowers but now i think ill eat some thanks.
Enjoy your free gourmet greens. I’ve been craving them. A few years ago I ordered some for a special dinner and I paid 20 $ a lb.