Herb: Great Basin Spring Beauty


Latin name: Claytonia umbellata


Family: Portulacaceae (Purslane Family)



Edible parts of Great Basin Spring Beauty:

Leaves - raw or cooked. Flowers - raw. Roots - cooked. The native North Americans roasted them in sand before eating them.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
15 cm
(6 inches)

Flowering:
March

Habitat of the herb:

Exposed slopes, 1500 - 3400 metres in California.

Propagation of Great Basin Spring Beauty:

Seed - surface sow on a peat based compost in spring in a cold frame. Germination usually takes place within 2 - 4 weeks at 10°C. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the cold frame for at least their first winter. Plant them out in late spring or early summer after the last expected frosts. Division of offsets in spring or autumn.

Cultivation of the herb:

Exposed slopes, 1500 - 3400 metres in California.

Medicinal use of Great Basin Spring Beauty:

None known

Known hazards of Claytonia umbellata:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.