Bridge Gardens’ Weed of the Month | Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)

This weedy relative of the flowering portulaca we grow in gardens and containers has been naturalized around the globe for many hundreds of years. Native to North Africa and the Middle East, it reached North America before Columbus and Europe in the sixteenth century. It has been cultivated for thousands of years and is still grown today for food and medicine around the world.

Purslane thrives as well in waste grounds and along roadsides as it does in gardens. This herbaceous annual needs heat to germinate, grow and flower, so it begins appearing in early summer and continues until frost. Its oval, olive green leaves and reddish stems are succulent and edible and have a sour, salty flavor. Purslane stems radiate from a central taproot and grow flat on the ground, forming a circle, which if left unchecked, can grow 3 feet in diameter. Some plants, especially those in shade or damp spots, will grow upright and can get a foot or more tall.

Flowers appear when there’s heat, sun and ample moisture. Small, yellow flowers are bunched in clusters where leaf meets stem and bloom one at a time. Self-pollinating, they mature into small pods that split apart when ripe and disperse scores of tiny black seeds. One purslane can potentially produce almost 200,000 seeds and they can persist in soil for decades.

With its ability to grow just about anywhere, in any soil type, no wonder purslane went global and can be such a problem. Though it prefers ample moisture, it will tolerate dry soil, too. Control is best achieved by persistent and consistent hand-pulling or cultivation but be advised that plants left on the ground can easily re-root and continue to mature seeds even after pulling. Mulches can stop seeds from germinating and are also a means of control.

Some grow purslane as a crop. It is also a forager’s delight. Purslane leaves are considered to be tasty and extremely nutritious, full of vitamins, minerals and omega-3 fatty acids, enjoyable raw in salads and cooked in soups, stews and sauces. Purslane can also be grown for its abundant seeds, which are edible as is or ground into flour.