Candy Flower

Early Spring Flowers Types of Flowers Baby Blue Eyes Buttercup Indian Plum Nuttall's Toothwort Oregon Grape Pioneer Violet Red-flowering Currant Trillium Western Dog Violet

Candy Flower, (Claytonia sibirica), goes by a variety of regionally preferred common names, known to some as Siberian Miner's Lettuce or Siberian Spring Beauty.

It's a member of the Purslane family (Portulacaceae) and an early bloomer in the Pacific Northwest, showing flowers starting in mid-March. Depending on elevation and climate, it blooms into the summer.

The riparian and forested areas of the Cascade Mountains are a favored habitat. The flower in the above picture is enlarged by at least a factor of two to highlight the purple stripes on the petals.

Both flower and leaves are edible, with the leaves providing a year long alternative to lettuce.

© 2008 Patricia A. Michaels