Siberian Miner’s Lettuce aka Candy Flower (Claytonia sibirica)

Elk Meadows, Mt. Hood W.A., 7/2012.

Named after the California gold-miners who ate it to stave off scurvy.  According to Aaron Barnett, the chef at Portland’s acclaimed St. Jack restaurant, “They (the leaves) look like little lily pads and taste like what spring should taste like:  fresh, juicy with a cucumber-like coolness.”

We saw thousands of these hiking up to the high lookout at Cascade Head.  Colors ranged from white to dark pink.

Cascade Head Nature Preserve, OR, 4/2014.