Miner's lettuce

Here's a weed that I don't have growing on my property, yet, but which we ate when we were in Auckland, over the weekend. It seems as though Gerry Colby Williams has it growing in Wynnum - a nearby suburb - so I must try and get some as it is a nice salad item.

the link to the Gerry Colby Williams article is: http://www.organicgardener.com.au/articles/rounding-volunteers

Binomial name : Montia perfoliata
Common name : Miner's Lettuce

History:

It was called Miner's lettuce as it was eaten during the California Gold Rush days to help prevent scurvy. In the last century it was cultivated in Europe as "winter purslane" and arrived in Australia/New Zealand during the gold rush days via miners from California.

Identification :

It is a small herb with disc shaped leaves on long stems, about 10cm high in my mother's Auckland garden. Tim Low ( Wild Herbs of Australia and New Zealand) records it as occurring in the cooler parts of Australia and in New Zealand. The flower stalks appear to pierce the centre of a rounded leaf. There a tiny white flowers with five petals ( no flowers seen this time though).

Uses:

The leaves are quite succulent in salads as we had today, and could be lightly boiled like chickweed as a potherb.

Nutritional:

20kcal/100gm (about 1 cup full)
Vit C - about 30mg ( the figure quoted is 33% of the RDI which is around 90mg/day)
Vit A -about 600IU ( also only quoted as 22% of the RDI which is about 3000IU)
Iron -10% of the RDI ( varies with age - adult male is 8mg - females about double that)


Medical :

Nothing to report

If you already have this weed growing it really is quite mild and lacking any bitterness and makes a good addition to a salad in my opinion.

Photo from Google images - we didn't take our camera!

Tom

My mother also had Hypochoeris radicata growing - the leaf surface was quite hairy compared to the Catsears I have here so my assumption that I had H glaba was probably correct.