Right now the purslane (Portulaca oleraceae) is thriving. I thought I'd share with you some of the info I have compiled on this remarkable plant. The fact that it can handle severe drought makes this a plant to pay attention to. We need to look into plants that need less water and that can handle heat and dry conditions since our future will probably have more heat waves in store for us.
Purslane (Portulaca oleraceae) Portulacaceae
Synonyms: Green Purslane, Little Hogweed, Verdolaga, Pursley, Red Root
Description: Annual herb that grows prostrate to the ground. It has fleshy hairless leaves that are paddle shaped. They are arranged in clusters/rosettes off the stem with smaller leaves overlapping larger ones. Stalk is thick and fleshy, sometimes with a reddish tint. Flowers are small and yellow with five petals that are notched at the top. They are formed at tips of branching stems. When they bloom they last for a few hours only. Here at the farm it is rare to see it flower. The presence of cleistogamous (petal-less, self-pollinating) flowers is a possible explanation for this phenomenon. Seed pod is smooth, oval and splits in half crosswise to form a little cup that holds the seeds for dispersal. Seeds are black, round and flattened. The root is a deep taproot.
Uses: We are able to harvest purslane from mid-summer until late fall where we are (North Okangan, BC). After we harvested some of our root crops the ground was left bare and the purslane took the moment to establish itself and spread out over the garden beds. It is doing us a great favour by holding the soil and retaining moisture. Besides it is one of the tastiest plants you will ever eat. I feel that we never get enough purslane in a year. All parts of it can be eaten. The succulent leaves and fleshy stalks are juicy and a little tart with a hint of salt. The sour flavour is stronger in the morning. We pick the entire aerial part of the plant and add it raw to salads and sandwiches. Sometimes the lower stalks can be a bit tough, if so, snip off your purslane greens a bit higher towards the tip and you should have no problem. I love adding purslane fresh to a potato salad. It gives a tangy little surprise that makes a potato salad more interesting and less heavy. It works really well in cold foods such as a quinoa salad and cold couscous salad. It mixes especially well in Greek yogurt and makes an interesting addition in a tzatziki dip. For a sweet treat the purslane leaves can be mixed with fruit and ice cubes and be whisked in the food processor for a delicious smoothie/slushy. Sometimes I add hemp seeds and frozen grated zucchini to my smoothies to make them extra nutritious and yummy.
Purslane can also be used in cooking, it is mucilaginous so will thicken up soups and stews. Another fun way to use the stalks and leaves of this plant is to turn them into a refrigerator pickle. They do not hold up to regular canning processes so are best added fresh to a jar and covered with pickle brine. Set in fridge for three days to a week before opening. It is recommended that refrigerator pickles be consumed within a month. In our house there is no risk of them going bad. We gobble them up long before then.
The seeds can be gathered and eaten too. Here we don't get enough purslane to make that worthwhile but I have read that in other parts of the world the seeds were ground up and made into seed cakes. I can clearly see it now, I need to deliberately cultivate more of this wonderful plant!
Other uses: Purslane has been used for a very long time by various peoples all around the globe. The name oleracea means vegetable or herb in Latin. Some uses in Traditional Chinese Medicine dates back thousands of years. It has been used for headaches, fevers, intestinal worms, dysentery, eczema and diabetes to name just a few. Personally I like using the juice of it on a sunburn. It feels cooling and it soothes the damaged skin.
This plant has a high amount of omega-3 which is not so common in green plants. We more often find omega-3 in fatty fish and nuts. Omega-3 has been found to have multiple benefits for the heart and the brain. Purslane is also a good source of vitamin A, iron and potassium.
Purslane makes a great companion plant because it retains the moisture in the soil and its long and strong roots can penetrate the ground and allow other plants' roots to get further down into the ground and tap into water and minerals at a deeper depth.
This plant can handle severe drought and is unusual in that it can utilize both C4 and CAM photosynthetic pathways. In the CAM process the plant keeps its stomata closed during the day to reduce water loss. It appears as if purslane switches to CAM (Crassulaceaen Acid Metabolism) after a period of extensive drought. Plants like these might be of crucial importance as our climate changes.
The seeds of the plant are popular with sparrows and songbirds.Caution: Contains some oxalic acid which will lessen if cooked. If you have a history of kidney stones be cautious using this plant since it may increase such a condition.
Prostrate Spurge/Spotted Spurge (Euphorbia maculata/ Chamaesyce maculata) Native prostrate annual. Leaves are oval and grow in a flattened opposite pattern. They do not form the small rosette-like structures with small leaves overlapping large ones like purslane does. Often the leaves will have a darker spot on their top. Flower is white and seed pods have three ridges. Sparsely covered in hairs. It exudes a sticky milky latex that can cause skin irritation. Poisonous.
Ridge-Seed Spurge (Euphorbia glyptosperma) Looks very similar to prostrate spurge apart from the lack of hairs and no red spot on top of leaf. There are also differences in fruits and seeds. E. glyptosperma has a smooth seed pod/fruit, whereas E. maculata has one that is covered in fine hairs. The seeds differ too, E. glyptosperma has clear transverse ridges. Flower is tiny, pink with with edges. The plant exudes a sticky milky latex that can cause skin irritation. Poisonous.
Common Knotweed (Polygonum arenastrum/Polygonum aviculare) Prostrate annual, sometimes perennial. Leaves are alternate and oval. They are not fleshy like purslane. At each leaf base a papery silver-coloured ochrea can be found. Flowers are green with pink-white edges. Edible.
