Plant · P-307

Purslane

Portulaca oleracea

Purslane is a succulent summer green that treats blistering summer heat as its growing season rather than an obstacle, thriving through drought, salt and heat that bolts every other leafy green bitter. Its tangy leaves and stems are eaten raw or cooked, the mucilage thickens soup the way okra does, and it happens to be the richest terrestrial leafy source of omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid known. Left alone in a vegetable bed, it self-sows heavily and returns every summer as a low mat covering bare soil for free - harvest it rather than weed it out.