Herb: Mountain Lettuce


Latin name: Saxifraga micranthidifolia


Synonyms: Micranthes micranthidifolia, Saxifraga erosa


Family: Saxifragaceae (Saxifrage Family)



Edible parts of Mountain Lettuce:

Leaves - raw or cooked. A highly-prized salad in the areas where it grows wild. It can also be cooked as a greens, going well with Allium tricoccum.

Description of the plant:



Plant:
Perennial


Height:
100 cm
(3 1/4 foot)

Flowering:
May to
June

Habitat of the herb:

By brooks, wet rocks and wet banks in mountains.

Propagation of Mountain Lettuce:

Seed - we have no information for this species but suggest sowing the seed in a cold frame in the spring. Surface sow, or only just cover the seed, and make sure that the compost does not dry out. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse or cold frame for their first winter. Plant them out in late spring after the last expected frosts. Division in spring. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer.

Cultivation of the herb:

By brooks, wet rocks and wet banks in mountains.

Medicinal use of Mountain Lettuce:

None known

Known hazards of Saxifraga micranthidifolia:

None known

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future.