Purslane
Portulaca oleracea
For comprehensive information (e.g. nutrition, health benefits, recipes, history, harvesting tips, etc.) please check out our Purslane PDF magazine.
IMPORTANT: a similar plant named "hairy-stemmed spurge" is poisonous. Click here for more information.
Purslane is a succulent annual trailing plant that grows in many countries because it thrives in poor soil. It can be eaten as a cooked vegetable and is great to use in salads, soups, stews or any dish you wish to sprinkle it over. It is also antibacterial, antiscorbutic, depurative, diuretic and febrifuge. The leaves are a very rich source of omega-3 fatty acids which prevents heart attacks and strengthens the immune system.
Distinguishing Features
This nutritious weed has a distinctive thick, reddish stem and succulent, green leaves. Also, when you snap the there is no white milky substance.
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Flowers
Purslane has yellow flowers that occur singly or in small terminal clusters. When fully open, each flower is about .5 cm(¼") across, consisting of five petals, two green sepals, numerous yellow stamens, and several pistils that appear together in the centre of the flower. These flowers open up for a few hours during bright sunny mornings. Purslane flowers bloom from mid-summer through the early fall and lasts about 1 to 2 months. Each flower is replaced by a seed capsule that splits open around the middle to release the numerous small, black seeds. One plant can produce up to 240,000 seeds.
Fields
of Nutrition has medicinal benefits and vitamin/mineral content of Purslane.
Leaves
Leaf shapes can slightly vary, but they are generally spoon-like. They grow alternate and measure 1 to 5 cm long, (.39 to 2”) and .5 to 2 cm (up to .78”) across. Some leaves are slightly notched at the apex. Leaves are glabrous, smooth, and waxy on the upper surface, with a smooth margin. Leaves are green or green with a red margin.
Height
Purslane tends to be trailing plant and they tend to grow at least 30 cm (12”) long.
Habitat
This wild edible plant is often found thriving in the cracks of sidewalks and driveways even during summer's heat. It often pops up in container gardens, flowerbeds, gardens, fields, waste ground and roadside.
Edible Parts
Leaves, stems, flowers and seeds.
Other Name
Portulaca.
Similar Plants
Hairy-Stemmed Spurge, which is poisonous. Click here for more information. 
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Recipes
Chicken Weed Wrap, Curried Tuna Patties, Fried or Baked Purslane, North African Style Purslane, Nutricized Purslane, Purslane and Pigweed Pizza, Purslane Egg Cups, Purslane Fritter Balls, Purslane Pistou, Wild Smoothies and Popsicles, Summer Salad, Sweet Pickled Purslane Stems
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