
Rooreh, Indian Lettuce
Claytonia perfoliata ssp. perfoliata
NATIVE
Description (Jepson, PlantID.net)
- Eudicotyledon
- Eudicots are a major lineage of flowering plants; see family for general characteristics
- Miner’s Lettuce Family (Montiaceae)
- Common annual herb
- Leaves
- Fleshy (succulent) leaves
- In 3 sequential forms
- First sets are blade-shaped
- Next sets are spade-shaped
- Finally, a fused pair creates a disk (perfoliate leaf) below the flowers
- Flowers
- Inflorescence (flower arrangement) is a terminal raceme (unbranched stem with stalked flowers opening from the bottom up)
- Numerous, small, white to pink flowers
- Emerge from the center of the perfoliate leaf
- May or may not have a stalk
- Small bract (modified leaf) at the base of the lowest flower covers the emerging buds
- Ovary superior (above the attachment of other flower parts)
- Fruit is a capsule (a dry, multi-chambered fruit that splits open at maturity)
- Mature capsule breaks open explosively, casting seeds several feet
- The explosive release of seeds from a fruit is called ballochory
- Mature capsule breaks open explosively, casting seeds several feet
- Height to 16 in.
Distribution
- Native to California
- Grows in seasonally damp locations in oak woodlands and coastal sage scrub
- See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
- Outside California, confined to western mountain and coastal regions of North America
- Grows at elevations to 3,280 ft.

Uses (San Mateo County Parks prohibits removal of any natural material)
- Wildlife
- Seeds eaten by birds
- Human
- Greens eaten boiled or as salad greens
- Native people are reported to have placed leaves near red ant nests so that swarming ants would leave a vinegar taste–creating salad dressing! (Corelli 2004)
- Good source of vitamin C
- Greens eaten boiled or as salad greens
- CAUTION – Contains oxalic acid and can be toxic if ingested in large quantities
Name Derivation
- Claytonia (klay-TONE-ee-a) – named for John Clayton, an 18th-century American botanist
- perfoliata (per-fo-lee-AY-ta) – from the Latin prefix per-, “through,” and folium, “leaf,” as the stem appears to perforate the fused upper leaves
- Miner’s lettuce – refers to California Gold Rush miners who ate it to prevent scurvy
- Rooreh – Ohlone name

Notes
- Happiest in a cool, damp environment; stressed leaves turn deep red
- The white, fleshy tips on the seeds are elaiosomes, nutrient-rich food packages that attract ants
- Ants carry the seeds back to their colony, feed the food packet to their larvae, and discard the seed, thus aiding in seed dispersal (Lengyel 2010)
- Giant trillium (Trillium chloropetalum) is another Edgewood species that uses this strategy, called myrmecochory
- Edgewood’s miner’s lettuce is classified as a subspecies
- Subspecies indicates a geographically-separated population with distinct morphological characteristics; when not isolated, interbreeding is possible
- Variety indicates a population with small morphological variations, e.g. color, seen throughout the geographic range of the species; interbreeding is possible
- In practice, botanists have not consistently applied these ranks
At Edgewood
- Found in woodlands and grasslands
- See iNaturalist for observations of Claytonia perfoliata
- Flowers February – May
Specific References
Lengyel, S. 2010. Convergent evolution of seed dispersal by ants, and phylogeny and biogeography in flowering plants: A global survey. Abstract. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 12: 43-55.
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. 2019. Miner’s lettuce. Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program.