The Amazing Health Benefits of Purslane

Purslane grows wild in my organic garden.  I always include some of it in my salads.  Free stuff and very healthy:)

Can anyone shed light on whether there is a substantial difference between different types of purslane? I picked up a few plants this spring because they had pretty flowers and seemed like they'd make a good ground cover for my herb garden. I picked them based on their flower colors though (red, violet, mango, and yellow) since I wasn't thinking about eating them. Are all types edible? Do certain varieties taste better than others?

You'll probably want to plant those purslane plants in a pot, as they're invaders and will take over your herb bed.  They're prolific spreaders.

Sandra Goodstone wrote:You'll probably want to plant those purslane plants in a pot, as they're invaders and will take over your herb bed.  They're prolific spreaders.

Perhaps herb garden is a misnomer. It is a bed of perennial herbs, flowers, and other plants that are almost all at least 10+ inches tall. I just call it my herb garden. My thinking is that the purslane doesn't get more than 2-3 inches tall, so it could spread in and around and provide ground cover (like a living mulch). Do you still think it would compete too much with the other plants for that?

As I said, the purslane in my organic garden is wild. I didn't plant it. I grow my veggie plants in raised beds and yet last year it was growing in between the lettuce plants and a few here and there but not a problem, as I added them to my salads and ate them.  This year it's growing in with my tomato plants, my various lettuces, zucchini and other plants.  This year it's a problem.  But all I can do is pull them. Their roots are shallow so easy to pull.

My point is that planting them in with your perennials is fine but be prepared to have them migrate out of that area and perhaps into areas you won't be thrilled with.

 

Last year I had hardly any purslane, this year it's coming up almost everywhere. Which makes me think it's a biennial plant. The seeds may go dormant one year and sprout the next. Anyway, I see not problem with it as it really acts as a ground cover and keeps the ground cool and helps prevent water evaporation here in the hot dry west. I don't mind seeing the ground covered with green as it is better than grass or other "weeds" because it can be eaten and other weeds cannot all be eaten or grow tall and unsightly. Purslane is very nutritious and it is there to remind me that perhaps I need more of the omega-3 nutrients that it provides. I believe that is how the Creator works and gives what we need.  I am thankful for what He provides. A previous year with a bumper crop I decided to try and preserve the purslane. So I dried some (after blending it into a paste and spreading it out on dryer sheets) and some I pickled in salt brine like I would do pickles. They were delicious! I used just the fattest stems for pickling and the smaller side stems with leaves for drying. I added the purslane "pickle stems" to potato salad and just ate them on the side with vegeburgers. When dried, it crumbles easily and is handy to add to soups and sauces and you won't know it's there.  Another good herb to dry is nettle - which also is crumbly and easy to add to salad, soups and sauces.

Great educational post.  It contains omega-3 fatty acids, potassium, magnesium, calcium, beta carotene, vitamin C and A.  This is truly a body builder snack.  Thank you for sharing.

I can see for you, Denise, where purslane is a good ground cover in the dry West. And "YES" purslane provides excellent nutrition...especially in the foods from Big Ag that are severely lacking.  Another "YES" God does provide for us and it's all free, if we know what those "weeds" are and how they can heal us:)

Cécile Stelzer Johnson wrote:

Jae Gruenke wrote:I definitely enjoy and celebrate purslane in my garden, sprinkled in my salad, and occasionally added to a sandwich. I haven't tried cooking it yet but at some point I will.

It is important, though, not to overeat it, because it is quite high in oxalate, which will bind to minerals in your food so you can't absorb them, and can also build up in your tissues causing kidney stones, joint pain, and other issues. This study discusses both the good and the bad of purslane, as well as the helpful use of yogurt in reducing the oxalate content or, as with spinach and other oxalate-containing greens, the benefit of boiling them and discarding the cooking water.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0889157509000842

Not to scare anyone off, but just to help you keep your purslane consumption in balance with what your body can handle.

Thanks, Jae. that is worth knowing. I have never thought of cooking it. I wonder what else it might bind with? I'm studying the negative effects of PFAs, PFOAS etc. Because they are bioaccumulators, the excretion of these dangerous chemicals is extremely important. the human body can excrete them through essentially any matter or fluid that leaves the human body. [Thinks sweat lodges!]
If, however these chemicals could bind with something else that we eat, that would really be a life saver, and I mean that literally.

I was just thinking the same thing it reminds me of cilantro in a way a plant that binds to heavy metals and toxins in your body. I wonder if purslane would do the same thing.

Used to be a lot of purslane in our garden. With soil improvement it has all but disappeared. Not saying it is a poverty weed but it does not seem to flourish in better soil. I believe it favors soil that has little structure, over tilled.