The rains we have had in the last several weeks have brought some much-needed moisture to our parched West Texas but now – watch out, here come the weeds! Yikes. Go to bed and the next morning weeds have sprung up where there was bare ground the day before. One of those weeds that seem to spontaneously generate is purslane.
Not all weeds are edible, but purslane is safe to consume and seed catalogs even carry it in their product lines. Wow. They must not live in West Texas. Give our ground a little moisture and purslane will appear out of nowhere. Purslane is not only edible, but also healthy and nutritious.
Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is an annual succulent some consider it an ornamental, others a vegetable, yet others, a weed. The genus name, Portulaca, references its family, Portulacaceae, while the specific epithet oleracea is from the Latin meaning 'vegetable or herbal'.
Purslane is native to India (reported to be Gandhi's favorite food). Its stems, paddle-shaped leaves and flowers all are edible and are packed with good things like Vitamin C and Omega-3 fatty acids. It has a mild, peppery, sweetsour flavor and can be used raw in salads, sautéed as a side dish, steamed or added to soups, stews, and other vegetable dishes.
Purslane is packed with other nutrients such as ßcarotene, for which carrot is named, yet purslane has even more carotene than carrots; along with Vitamin C, it also has loads of Vitamin E. Purslane is extremely drought tolerant yet flourishes with some moisture. It will grow just about anywhere and actually does very well in poor arid soils.
The seed of purslane is tiny, black, and hard. Anecdotally, it is said that purslane seed can survive decades. Purslane readily reseeds. If one purslane plant is allowed to mature, within a few weeks a carpet of small seedlings will emerge. So do harvest it before the pretty colorful flowers mature and set seed. If you are in the adventurous group that will be harvesting the stems to eat, be absolutely certain that no herbicides or insecticides have come near the plant. After making absolutely sure there is no pesticide residue, harvest purslane by pulling up the entire plant. Cut off roots and wash well. Leaves, stems, and flowers can be used raw in salads, sautéed as a side dish, steamed, or add to soups, stews, and other vegetable dishes.
Ellen Peffley Harp, a retired professor of horticulture at Texas Tech University, writes about gardening for several Texas newspapers.
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