Day 184: It used to be Montia, and it used to be Miner's Lettuce, but as has occurred with so many other things in the world, our perception of this little plant has changed thanks to scientific advances, and now it's Claytonia sibirica or Western Spring Beauty. Honestly, I'm having a hard time keeping up! It is fairly abundant here in the Pacific Northwest, and if you're a hunter-gatherer type, the foliage makes a tangy addition to a garden salad, but caution should be exercised when consuming it because of the presence of oxalic acid in its tissues. Accumulations of oxalic acid can lead to kidney stones. That said, I occasionally nibble a leaf or two, finding them a bit tart and lemony.
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