{"id":348,"date":"2025-08-04T14:35:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T14:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/?p=348"},"modified":"2025-08-04T14:35:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T14:35:02","slug":"getting-to-know-the-purslane-plant-epictactical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/?p=348","title":{"rendered":"GETTING TO KNOW THE PURSLANE PLANT \u2013 EpicTactical"},"content":{"rendered":"
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GETTING TO KNOW THE PURSLANE PLANT<\/p>\n

(Portulaca oleracea)<\/p>\n

By Christopher Nyerges<\/p>\n

Remember Henry David Thoreau who wrote \u201cWalden: Life in the Woods\u201d?\u00a0 In the mid 1850s, Thoreau wanted to escape the \u201cover-civilization\u201d that he felt was oppressive, and he wanted to see if he could live life simply with very little.\u00a0 He built a little cabin in the woods outside Concord, Massachusetts, and grew beans and lived simply for over two years.<\/p>\n

He wrote, \u201cI learned that a man may use as simple a diet as the animals, and yet retain health and strength.\u00a0 I have made a satisfactory dinner off a dish of purslane which I gathered and boiled.\u00a0 Yet men have come to such a pass that they frequently starve, not from want of necessities, but for want of luxuries.\u201d\u00a0 Indeed, and he observed this in the 1850s!<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Purslane is a low-growing succulent annual that starts appearing in your garden in mid-summer, a bit later than most of the common spring greens. It is a very common annual in rose beds and gardens, and it is occasionally seen, en masse, in the sandy bottoms of streams.<\/p>\n

The stems are succulent, red colored, and round in the cross section. The stems sprawl outward from the roots, rosette-like, with the stems lying on the ground. The leaves are paddle shaped. The little yellow flower is 5 petaled.<\/p>\n

WHERE FOUND:<\/p>\n

Though a native of India, this plant is now common and widespread throughout the world.\u00a0 It is found in agricultural lands, swamps, fields, gardens, ditches, and vacant lots.\u00a0 Though it prefers wet soils, it can be found in most environments.<\/p>\n

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USES:<\/p>\n

When you chew on a fresh stem or leaf of purslane, you\u2019ll find it mildly sour and a bit crunchy. It\u2019s really a great snack, though I like it a lot in salads. Just rinse it to get all the dirt off, dice, add some dressing, and serve. Yes, add tomatoes and avocado if you have any.<\/p>\n

According to wild food author Mike Krebill, \u201cThe tender tips of stems, including leaves, may be eaten raw in salads, baked in quiche, or added to a stir-fry.\u00a0 Flexible stems up to the thickness of a pencil may be pickled.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you take the thick stems, clean off the leaves, and cut them into sections of about 4\u2033, you can make purslane pickles. There are many ways to make pickles; my way is to simply fill the jar with the purslane stems, add raw apple cider vinegar, and let it sit for a few weeks. (I refrigerate it.)<\/p>\n

Add it to sandwiches, tostadas, even on the edges of your chile rellenos and huevos rancheros. I\u2019ve also eaten it fried, boiled, baked (in egg dishes), and probably other ways, too. It\u2019s versatile, tasty, and crisp. It really goes with anything, and it\u2019s very nutritious.<\/p>\n

PROCESSING:<\/p>\n

Processing the purslane plant is easy.\u00a0 The entire plant\u2019s stems and leaves and stems are washed, and then used in whatever recipe you\u2019re using.<\/p>\n

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MEDICINE\/NUTRITION:<\/p>\n

According to researchers, purslane is one of the richest plant sources of omega-3 fatty acids. In 1986, researcher Norman Salem Jr., a lipid biochemist with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse\u00a0 and Alcoholism in Bethesda, Maryland, found that purslane was the richest leafy plant source of Omega-3 fatty acids.\u00a0 The omega-3 fatty acids help to reduce the body\u2019s cholesterol levels and reduces the risk of heart attack.\u00a0 That means that not only is it good but it\u2019s also good for you! \u00a0Salem and his collaborator, Artemis P. Simopoulous with the American Association for World Health in Washington D.C. studied the effects of the eggs from chickens fed wild purslane on a Greek farm.\u00a0 The eggs were found to contain about ten times as much omega-3 fatty acids as you\u2019d find in a typical supermarket egg.<\/p>\n

According to the USDA, 100 grams, which is about a half-cup, of raw purslane contains 103 mg. of calcium, 39 mg. of phosphorus, 2,500 mg. of vitamin A, and 25 mg. of vitamin C.\u00a0 It contains smaller amounts of iron, riboflavin, thiamine, and niacin.<\/p>\n

ADVICE FOR GROWING:\u00a0 Purslane seeds can be purchased from seed supply companies, and planted in gardens or pots if you don\u2019t have any.\u00a0 The cut stems root easily, so you can cut the thicker stems that you find in the wild, and then simply stick them in good soil in your yard, where they will grow.<\/p>\n

CAUTIONS: Sometimes, prostrate spurge is confused for purslane.\u00a0 Prostrate spurge, however, lies very flat to the ground, and when you break the stem of spurge, a white milky sap appears.<\/p>\n

BOTANICAL DATA<\/p>\n

Purslane is a member of the Purslane Family, which according to the most recent botanical classification, contains only one genus, Portulaca.\u00a0 There are about 100 species of genus Portulaca world-wide, with Purslane being one of the most common species worldwide. (Formerly, purslane had been classified in the Miner\u2019s Lettuce Family, a family who members are entirely safe to eat.)<\/i><\/p>\n

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RECIPES:<\/p>\n

Purslane Salsa<\/p>\n

2 cups chopped tomatoes<\/span><\/p>\n

21\u20442 cups chopped foraged purslane<\/span><\/p>\n

3<\/span>\u20444 cup chopped onions<\/span><\/p>\n

3 garlic cloves<\/span><\/p>\n

1 cup raw apple cider vinegar <\/span><\/p>\n

1\u20444 cup sugar<\/span><\/p>\n

1 large California bay leaf<\/span><\/p>\n

Salt and pepper to taste<\/span><\/p>\n

1<\/span>\u20442 cup chopped cilantro and some herbs from the garden (such as thyme)<\/span><\/p>\n

Place all ingredients, except cilantro and other herbs, into a pot, bring to a boil, and then simmer to the desired consistency (light or chunky). Add cilantro and other herbs.<\/p>\n

Pour into jars, close the lids, and place in the fridge. It should be good for at least a month.<\/p>\n

n\u00a0 Recipe provide from Pascal Baudar, author of \u201cWild Fermentation.\u201d<\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/p>\n

Nyerges has been teaching ethnobotany since 1974.\u00a0 He is the author of \u201cGuide to Wild Foods and Useful Plants,\u201d \u201cForaging Wild Edible Plants of North America,\u201d and other books on the uses of wild plants. He can be reached at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GETTING TO KNOW THE PURSLANE PLANT (Portulaca oleracea) By Christopher Nyerges Remember Henry David Thoreau who wrote \u201cWalden: Life in the Woods\u201d?\u00a0 In the mid 1850s, Thoreau wanted to escape the \u201cover-civilization\u201d that he felt was oppressive, and he wanted to see if he could live life simply with very little.\u00a0 He built a little […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-348","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-survival"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=348"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":350,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/348\/revisions\/350"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=348"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=348"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/knifevoyager.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=348"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}