Purslane Identification — Four Season Foraging (2024)

FAQs

Purslane Identification — Four Season Foraging? ›

One of the keys to identifying purslane is its fleshiness. The stems are thick and succulent, reddish in color, and spread into dense mats up to 20 inches across.

Common purslane is sometimes confused with prostrate pigweed (Amaranthus blitoides S. Watson), prostrate knotweed (Polygonum aviculare L.), and various spurges (Euphorbia spp.). Prostrate pigweed has non-fleshy leaves, distinguishing it from common purslane.

Visually, however, the plants are quite different: common purslane does not form a rosette of leaves and flowers yellow, while winter purslane has disc-shaped leaves on its flower stems. Both plants, however, can be used in the same way.

Spurge family plants like Prostrate spurge (Euphorbia prostrata) and Spotted spurge (Euphorbia maculate) are purslane's poisonous doppelgangers that should never enter your garden. Unlike oleracea's superfood and super plant status, spurges are considered dangerous and unfit for consumption.

There are annual and succulent varieties of purslane or portulaca also available. All of these are edible plants. The flowers, buds, seeds, leaves, and stems are all edible.

Purslane is easily grown in the vegetable garden from seed, ready for harvest in 6-8 weeks.

In general, the way to tell portulaca (Portulaca grandiflora) frompurslane (Portulaca oleracea) is that portulaca has cylindrical leaves andpurslane has flat teardrop or ovate shaped leaves.

Purslane is an annual plant that will die with the first hard frost. This heat loving plant loves hot dry conditions and will not survive cold temperatures. Container grown Purslane can be brought indoors during the cold weather months. Place the plant in a warm area that will get direct sunlight each day.

Common purslane is known for having fleshy, “succulent” leaves, whereas spotted spurge has flat leaves. Depending on the stage of the plants you're observing, their flowers will also help you distinguish them from each other. Spotted spurge has small pink flowers, while common purslane has small yellow flowers.

Although purslane leaves, stems, and flowers are completely edible, it's safest to only eat this plant if you know where and how it was grown. Because it's usually treated as a weed in the U.S., purslane that you find in a yard or next to a sidewalk could have been sprayed with a chemical.

Who should not eat purslane? ›

The plant is nutritious and generally considered safe for human consumption. Due its content of oxalic acid, purslane should not be consumed by people with kidney disease or that have high uric acid (Gardner and McGuffin, 2012; Berdonces, 2009; Duke et al., 2009).

Purslane is a green, leafy vegetable that can be eaten raw or cooked. It is known scientifically as Portulaca oleracea, and is also called pigweed, little hogweed, fatweed and pusley.

In general, the way to tell portulaca (Portulaca grandiflora) frompurslane (Portulaca oleracea) is that portulaca has cylindrical leaves andpurslane has flat teardrop or ovate shaped leaves.