Siberian Miner’s lettuce, Candy flower
PORTULACACEAE, The Purslane family
Also known as Montia sibirica, this sweet spring flower is a close relative of a midwestern cutie, Claytonia virginica, simply called Spring beauty. Their succulent leaves give them away as members of the purslane family, Portulacaceae. Moss rose and Lewisia are in this family, and it’s namesake, the potherb purslane. Despite being called Siberian, Claytonia sibirica is indeed a Northwest native. It’s edible, though according to Pojar and Mackinnon it was not eaten by native people, but it had several medicinal uses. I saw this flower blooming in Forest Park. I was having the kind of evening walk that feels out of body.. springtime is so clear and the air is so fresh and cool, the colors of dusk so fleeting. Spring ephemerals. This is the season of violent change. Things happen so rapidly it’s impossible to keep up, but one must try. I do feel grief in autumn at the passing of the summer, and weep as I plant bulbs. But why does the time of new beginnings feel so heart wrenching? I am anxious. I feel psychotically excited. I don’t want to miss anything. I need to hold and record each precious thing, yet they just fly by. I don’t have a photo of this flower.
“I was born in the spring, and I never got over it. I am obsessed by seasonal changes; am far too susceptible to the blahs as daylight hours shorten in autumn, get a little too high for my own good when the evening light lingers…â€
-Ken Druse
