Monday, March 16, 2015

Exploring a Small County Road

Miner's Lettuce Growing in Tree Crevice, © B. Radisavljevic
Miner's Lettuce Growing in Tree Crevice
Today I stopped to explore a place I've always wanted to photograph. I just never knew where to park that was not on private property. On the way from Paso Robles to Templeton today I discovered there was a public road where I could park and walk in. Time was limited, but I still got some photos. What I was delighted to see was an abundance of Miner's Lettuce. It was even more fun seeing it grow in the tree.

Miner's Lettuce Next to Tree,  © B. Radisavljevic
In fact, there was Miner's Lettuce everywhere along the road. I took the liberty of picking some of it and taking it home for salad tomorrow, since it didn't look as though anyone would care. I've never tried eating it yet because I've never been able to find it where it was not growing next to poison oak.  As you can see, there is plenty of it here. It is supposed to be very tasty.

Ambush Trail in Paso Robles,  © B. Radisavljevic
As I continued down the road, I found myself with forest on both sides. The road is called Ambush Trail, which I thought was interesting. It's supposed to lead up to a vineyard. I wanted to explore more, but I was pressed for time. I will go back the first chance I get. I want to find out if it connects with Twelve Oaks Drive at some point. I love exploring the roads less traveled.

For more information about Miner's Lettuce and other edible weeds, see
Foraging California: Finding, Identifying, And Preparing Edible Wild Foods In California (Foraging Series) by Christopher Nyerges. It's the best book I've seen on recognizing and preparing California wild foods. It has all my favorites. 

7 comments:

  1. What a lovely park! Let us know how you like the Miner's Lettuce.

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    1. Vicki, I didn't find the Miner's lettuce in a park, but on a small country roadside. You must have seen the park blog right under this, and it is a lovely park. It amazed me.

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    2. I tried the Miner's Lettuce for lunch today in a weed salad. It was good.

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  2. Replies
    1. I was delighted to find it, Ann. Thanks for dropping by to share my experience.

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  3. Never had Miners Lettuce before, nor seen it. But if I did I probably wouldn't even recognise it :) I'm terrible with naming plant life

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  4. Miner's Lettuce is one of the easiest plants to recognize because nothing else I know of looks anything like it. It's very good to eat.

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