DESCRIPTION: This vegetable is also known as Winter Purslane, Cuban Spinach and Miner's Lettuce. Miner's Lettuce was a blessing to prospectors starved for greens during the 1849 gold rush. It clothes meadows during the spring rainy season and lasts for weeks longer in shaded dells. The small plants have oval to lance-shaped basal leaves on long petioles (leaf stalks) and interesting, disk-shaped leaves that appear to be threaded along the slender stems. They make very pretty garnishes and can be used as salad or potherbs.
POTTING: Miner's Lettuce can be naturalized in flower beds receiving light shade from deciduous trees. This plant prefers cooler weather, but can only survive light frost. In cooler atmospheres, Miner's Lettuce is planted in early spring and in the South it's planted in autumn. Soil should be full of organic matter and evenly moist. A mulch of sifted compost will prolong production. When harvesting these plants, the whole plant is pulled up. If you want the crop to renew itself, leave a few plants to produce seeds.
PROPAGATION: Sow seeds 2 to 3 inches apart in early spring in cooler climates. In the South, plant in the fall. Late summer plantings for fall harvest may be killed by frost before they can produce seeds.
VARIETIES: M. perfoliata.