Claytonia
The genus Claytonia is named after John Clayton (botanist, died 1773), who collected specimens of various plants in North America and distributed them to botanists in Europe.
Claytonia (spring beauty) is a genus of flowering plants native to North America, Central America, and Asia.[1] The genus was formerly included in Portulacaceae[1] but is now classified in the family Montiaceae,[2] primarily native to the mountain chains of Asia and North America, with a couple of species extending south to Guatemala in Central America, and northwest to Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia in eastern Asia.
The genus Claytonia was moved in 2009 from the purslane family (Portulacaceae) with adoption of the APG IV system, which recognised the family Montiaceae. A number of the species were formerly treated in the related genus Montia. A comprehensive scientific study of Claytonia was published in 2006.[3]
Claytonia perfoliata, the species for which the term miner's lettuce was coined, is distributed throughout the Mountain West of North America in moist soils and prefers areas that have been recently disturbed.
The leaves of the spring beauty are rich in vitamins and can be eaten raw or cooked. The roots are in the form of tubers which can be eaten like potatoes.[5]
