BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Claytonia perfoliata | Miner's-Lettuce 



GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS : 
Miner's-lettuce is a native winter or spring annual.  It is branched
from the base with stems growing up to 14 inches (35 cm) tall.  Leaves
are mostly basal, simple, and 2.4 to 8.0 inches (6-20 cm) long,
including the stalk.  Miner's-lettuce has two stem leaves that fuse to
form a disc just below the flower stalk.  The elongate stalk bears
numerous small flowers.  Fruits are tiny, three-valved capsules
containing one to three seeds.  Roots are fibrous [11,22,27,36].


RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM : 
   Therophyte


REGENERATION PROCESSES : 
Miner's-lettuce reproduces by seed [24,33,34].  Selfing is the most
common method of pollination, but insect pollination also occurs.  Seeds
are dispersed by explosive dehiscence.  They are capable of immediate
germination [39].


SITE CHARACTERISTICS : 
Miner's-lettuce usually occurs on moist or vernally moist sites
[10,14,18,19,22].  Miller [39] reported it from a variety of substrates
including river silt, sand, gravel, road tar, loam, rock crevices,
talus, and scree.  He also found it on burned sites.  Some polyploids
occur on specialized, distinctive sites.  The Columbia River Gorge
octoploid, for example, occurs only on north-facing basalt talus slopes
or cliff faces.  Other polyploids are more plastic in site requirements
[40].

In California, miner's-lettuce is most common below 6,500 feet (2,000 m)
[38]; in Arizona it grows at elevations of 2,500 to 7,500 feet
(750-2,270 m) [19]; in Utah it grows at elevations of 2,600 to 10,890
feet (800-3,300 m) [36].


SUCCESSIONAL STATUS : 
Facultative Seral Species

Miner's-lettuce occurs in all seral stages.  It often colonizes
disturbed sites, particularly following fire [22,24].  Miner's lettuce
is also found on virgin fields dominated by bluebunch wheatgrass
(Pseudoroegneria spicata) and Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda) in
southeastern Washington [8].  However, miner's-lettuce is shade tolerant
[22,26,27] and is more prominent under a canopy than in openings in oak
savanna, western white pine (Pinus monticola), and antelope bitterbrush
(Purshia tridentata) communities [3,23,26].


SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT : 
Time from germination to flowering varied from 33 to 90 days in a
Columbia River Gorge population [39].  Miner's-lettuce flowers from
February to May in Arizona and California [19,27].  In Utah, it flowers
from June to July [1].

Related categories for Species: Claytonia perfoliata | Miner's-Lettuce