Green gold

Going down to the bay to collect mussels I noticed these unfamiliar clumps of delicate flowers growing alongside a damp ditch. Their stems emerged directly from smooth fleshy leaves  borne on tender red stalks.  It turned out to be  purslane,  native to the far easternmost islands of Siberia and thence across the Bering Strait to Alaska and down the northern and western seaboard of Canada and North America. (This pink purslane is  in fact the Siberian species Claytonia sibirica.) 

It's known as miners' lettuce, having been a vital edible and source of Vitamin C for the snow-bound fortune seekers who ran the risk of  scurvy in the Gold Rush years in northern California. They learnt its importance as a anti-scorbutic from the indigenous people of the region, by whom it was routinely consumed.

"The Native Americans on the West Coast ate miner’s lettuce raw or cooked. To give it a tangy note, they’d put it on an anthill before eating it, taking advantage of the formic acid that the ants squirt in self-defense. The California aboriginals also used it as a healing plant. The Shoshone put freshly crushed leaves on areas afflicted by rheumatic pain. The Thompson Indians in British Columbia used it for eye afflictions."

It was introduced into Europe in the 18th century by Virginia  botanist  John Clayton and has naturalised in moist areas of the north and west of Britain following its escape from the garden, the green grocer  and the salad bowl in what might be termed a reverse migration. As late winter greens it can be eaten raw or cooked, and is easy to grow.

(See here for just one recipe example.)

For anyone who's interested to see more of the area of West Wales where I live, I'd like to mention  fairly recent new blipper Clazel who has been staying in our holiday cottage this week. She and her husband have covered a huge amount of ground, much of it on foot, and she  taken some splendid pictures, mostly of the wild life and  ancient  sites with which Pembrokeshire is so blessed. Her blips this weeks could'nt be a better introduction to the area and  I hope may tempt others to follow in her  footsteps. And may I mention there's a 10% discount  for blippers renting our already modestly-priced small cottage! (Contact details on my profile page.)