What is "montia"

Montia is a genus of plants in the purslane family, Montiaceae. Species in this genus are known generally as miner's lettuce or minerslettuce.

Montia perfoliata, now 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 which have been recently disturbed. The species got its name due to its use as a fresh salad green by miners in the 1849 Gold Rush in California.

Selected species:

• Montia bostockii - Bostock's miner's lettuce
• Montia chamissoi - water miner's lettuce, toadlily
• Montia dichotoma - dwarf miner's lettuce
• Montia diffusa - spreading miner's lettuce, branching montia
• Montia fontana - annual water miner's lettuce, water-blinks
• Montia howellii - Howell's miner's lettuce
• Montia linearis - narrowleaf miner's lettuce
• Montia parvifolia - littleleaf miner's lettuce

fontana mofo 005 php.jpg|Montia fontana chamissoi.jpg|Montia chamissoi