Claytonia parviflora

Miner's lettuce

Family: Montiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Miner's lettuce is a California native annual herb found throughout California's coastal ranges, Sierra Nevada, and Central Valley in grasslands, open woodlands, and disturbed areas. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces small white to pale pink flowers typically 3 to 6 millimeters long. Growing with slender stems 5 to 30 centimeters tall that spread or grow upright, the plant has a distinctive growth habit with unique leaf structures. Its basal leaves are linear to narrowly oblanceolate, while the cauline leaves are particularly notable for sometimes forming a round or square disk-like structure up to 5 centimeters in diameter. The tiny, shiny seeds are ovate to round, reflecting this adaptable plant's delicate and intricate botanical design.

California counties: Mendocino, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Contra Costa, San Diego, Riverside, Ventura, Kern, Inyo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, El Dorado, San Luis Obispo, Mariposa, Shasta, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Tulare, Tuolumne, Santa Barbara, Fresno, Solano, Amador, Orange, Calaveras, Lake, Marin, Colusa, Sacramento, Merced, Nevada, Butte, Tehama, Humboldt, Monterey, Glenn, Plumas, Sierra, Yolo, Placer, San Joaquin, Sutter, Napa, San Mateo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.