We have recently published ‘Food Forest Plants for Hotter Conditions’: i.e. tropical and sub-tropical regions. We rely on regular donations to keep our free database going and help fund development of this and another book we are planning on food forest plants for Mediterranean climates. Please give what you can to keep PFAF properly funded. More >>>

Follow Us:

 

Montia fontana - L.

Common Name Water Blinks, Annual water minerslettuce
Family Portulacaceae
USDA hardiness Coming soon
Known Hazards None known
Habitats Streamsides, springs, flushes, wet places among rocks, moist pastures etc, especially on non-calcareous soils[17]. It is also found in arable fields in S.W. England[17].
Range Temperate regions throughout the world, including Britain.
Edibility Rating    (2 of 5)
Other Uses    (0 of 5)
Weed Potential No
Medicinal Rating    (0 of 5)
Care (info)
Moist Soil Wet Soil Water Plants Semi-shade Full sun
Montia fontana Water Blinks, Annual water minerslettuce


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Illustration_Polycarpon_polycarpoides0_clean.jpg
Montia fontana Water Blinks, Annual water minerslettuce
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Abalg

 

Translate this page:

Summary


Physical Characteristics

 icon of manicon of flower
Montia fontana is a ANNUAL/PERENNIAL growing to 0.5 m (1ft 8in).
It is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to October, and the seeds ripen from June to October. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Insects, Cleistogomy (self-pollinating without flowers ever opening). The plant is self-fertile.
Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It prefers moist or wet soil and can grow in water.

UK Hardiness Map US Hardiness Map

Synonyms

Plant Habitats

Woodland Garden Dappled Shade; Shady Edge; Pond; Bog Garden;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves
Edible Uses:

Leaves - raw[46, 61, 177, 183]. Fairly bland, they are quite nice in a salad. The leaves can turn bitter in summer, especially if the plant is growing in a hot dry position.

References   More on Edible Uses

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.


None known

References   More on Medicinal Uses

The Bookshop: Edible Plant Books

Our Latest books on Perennial Plants For Food Forests and Permaculture Gardens in paperback or digital formats.

Food Forest Plants for Hotter Conditions: 250+ Plants For Tropical Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.
Edible Tropical Plants

Food Forest Plants for Hotter Conditions: 250+ Plants For Tropical Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.

More
Plants for Your Food Forest: 500 Plants for Temperate Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.
Edible Temperate Plants

Plants for Your Food Forest: 500 Plants for Temperate Food Forests & Permaculture Gardens.

More
PFAF have eight books available in paperback and digital media.
More Books

PFAF have eight books available in paperback and digital formats. Browse the shop for more information.

Shop Now

Other Uses

None known

Special Uses

References   More on Other Uses

Cultivation details

Prefers a moist peaty soil. A polymorphic species[17].

References   Carbon Farming Information and Carbon Sequestration Information

Temperature Converter

Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit:

Fahrenheit:

image

The PFAF Bookshop

Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants, Edible Perennials, Edible Trees,Edible Shrubs, Woodland Gardening, and Temperate Food Forest Plants. Our new book is Food Forest Plants For Hotter Conditions (Tropical and Sub-Tropical).

Shop Now

Plant Propagation

Seed - sow spring or autumn in situ. The seed usually germinates rapidly.

Other Names

If available other names are mentioned here

Native Range

TEMPERATE ASIA: Turkey, Russian Federation (Buryatia (south), Irkutsk (south), Yakutia-Sakha (north)) TROPICAL ASIA: Indonesia (Papua), Papua New Guinea NORTHERN AMERICA: Canada (Northwest Territories, Yukon, Québec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, British Columbia), Greenland, St. Pierre and Miquelon, United States (Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, California, Nevada, Utah) SOUTHERN AMERICA: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru AUSTRALASIA: Australia (Tasmania, New South Wales (southeast), South Australia (south), Victoria), New Zealand EUROPE: Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Russian Federation (Karelia, Komi, Arkhangelsk, Neneckij avtonomnyj okrug, Kaliningrad, Leningradskaja oblast, Moscow, Murmansk, Novgorod, Tver, Vologda, Yaroslavl), Bulgaria, Greece (incl. Crete), Croatia, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily), North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, France (incl. Corsica), Portugal AFRICA: Morocco, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo (east)

Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section. Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants Status :

Related Plants
Latin NameCommon NameHabitHeightHardinessGrowthSoilShadeMoistureEdibleMedicinalOther
Parrotiopsis jacquemontiana Shrub6.0 6-9  LMHSNM003

Growth: S = slow M = medium F = fast. Soil: L = light (sandy) M = medium H = heavy (clay). pH: A = acid N = neutral B = basic (alkaline). Shade: F = full shade S = semi-shade N = no shade. Moisture: D = dry M = Moist We = wet Wa = water.

 

Expert comment

Author

L.

Botanical References

17270

Links / References

For a list of references used on this page please go here

Readers comment

Add a comment

If you have important information about this plant that may help other users please add a comment or link below. Only comments or links that are felt to be directly relevant to a plant will be included. If you think a comment/link or information contained on this page is inaccurate or misleading we would welcome your feedback at [email protected]. If you have questions about a plant please use the Forum on this website as we do not have the resources to answer questions ourselves.

* Please note: the comments by website users are not necessarily those held by PFAF and may give misleading or inaccurate information.

To leave a comment please Register or login here All comments need to be approved so will not appear immediately.

Subject : Montia fontana  
© 2010, Plants For A Future. Plants For A Future is a charitable company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Charity No. 1057719, Company No. 3204567.