Claytonia perfoliata subsp. perfoliata

Family: Montiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Miner's lettuce is a California native annual found in California Floristic Province in vernally moist, often shady or disturbed sites at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from January to May, this plant produces small white to pale pink flowers in delicate clusters. Growing with slender, soft stems 10 to 30 centimeters tall, it forms distinctive circular leaf structures that completely encircle the stem. Its basal leaves are elliptic to triangular with obtuse or acute tips, while the distinctive cauline leaves are generally round, creating a unique disk-like appearance around the stem. The plant's adaptability to disturbed and shaded environments makes it a common sight in California's springtime landscapes.

Habitat: Vernally moist, often shady or disturbed sites

Bloom period: Jan-May

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: CA-FP

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

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