Wildflowers Found in Oregon

Candy Flower (Siberian Miner's Lettuce)

Claytonia sibirica - Montia sibirica (Purslane Family) - Although the individual flowers are small, candyflower often sprawls over the ground in dense shade, dotting the forest floor with its white flowers. Look closely at these five-petaled flowers -- each petal has a notch in the tip. Most of the leaves are basil, meaning they emerge from the base of the plant on their own stems. The 5 to 12 inch flowering stem however, also has two leaves. Also known as Siberian miner's lettuce, these little plants are widespread in the western states where they long have been used as salad greens. Thousands of these small beauties dot our shaded woodlands.