2-23-15
I found a patch of this weed along side of the Elk Grove Creek, in a muddy area. This is miner's leaf lettuce. The leaves of this plant were large, fleshy, about four inches across. I've seen this plant in Southern California, but it was much smaller and hardly worth collecting to eat. It seems that here in Northern California, the Miner's leaf lettuce grows happily in large swaths in the late winter and early spring.
I found a patch of this weed along side of the Elk Grove Creek, in a muddy area. This is miner's leaf lettuce. The leaves of this plant were large, fleshy, about four inches across. I've seen this plant in Southern California, but it was much smaller and hardly worth collecting to eat. It seems that here in Northern California, the Miner's leaf lettuce grows happily in large swaths in the late winter and early spring.
It got it's name
from the gold miners who harvested it during the California
Gold Rush in 1849. They probably learned about the plant and it's
benefits from the native Indians. The leaves of this fleshy plant could
cure scurvy, a condition that is a result of a lack of vitamin C. This herb is
high in vitamin C, A, iron and Omega 6.
Eaten raw, it is
slightly lemony. This flavor is the result of ascorbic acid and oxalic acid. There
might a problem with plants that contain oxalic acid because it can inhibit the
absorption of calcium, but spinach, beet greens and swiss chard all contain
oxalic acid, not enough to harm and the benefits out weigh the negative
effects. The leaves of the rhubarb plant does have so much oxalic acid that it is poison.
I love eating the leaves
of this plant mixed with other leafy plants, either fresh or cooked. I like the
pretty umbrella form and the little flowers in the middle of each leaf that I
had to sketch it!
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