Other Names: Common purslane, verdolaga, portulaca (regional)
Family: Portulacaceae (Purslane family)
Visual Description: Low-growing, mat-forming summer annual with smooth reddish stems and thick, juicy oval leaves. Small yellow flowers open in strong sun.
Edibility: YES!! Leaves and stems are edible raw or cooked. Seeds are edible and can be ground. This is a globally used food plant, not just a "weed."
Medicinal Uses: YES! Purslane has long traditional use as a "cooling" soothing herb and is also well-studied for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, plus research on metabolic markers (blood glucose, blood pressure, lipids).
General Notes: Purslane can re-root from cut stems, so harvest cleanly and bag scraps if you do not want it spreading. If you do want it around, harvest it hard and treat it as living mulch you can eat.
| Ailment / When to Use | Part Used | Practical Preparation and Dose | Plain-Language Why It Works | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer heat, thirst, "dry-hot" feeling | Fresh leaves/stems (food) | Eat as a salad green or add to yogurt/soups. Best used as food: daily for 1–2 weeks in hot weather. | Succulent, cooling food-plant pattern; hydration + micronutrients support recovery after heat stress. | [2] |
| Hot, irritated skin (mild sun stress, minor inflammation) | Fresh aerial parts | Crush into a quick poultice, or steep strong tea, cool it, and use as a compress 10–15 min. Patch test first. | Traditional cooling/demulcent pattern; reviews discuss antioxidant + anti-inflammatory activity that fits topical calming use. | [2] |
| General inflammation support (gentle, food-first) | Food + occasional tea | Eat as greens daily for 1–2 weeks; optional mild tea (1 tsp dried herb per cup, steep 10 min) once daily. | Antioxidant buffering + anti-inflammatory pathways are repeatedly discussed in review literature. | [2] [4] |
| Metabolic support (adjunct only; not a replacement for care) | Extract (supplement-style) | If using capsules/extracts while managing diabetes or blood pressure, do it clinician-aware. Monitor glucose/BP closely. | Randomized placebo-controlled trials have evaluated purslane extract for glucose control, blood pressure, and lipid profile in adults with type 2 diabetes. | [3] |
| Nutritional "upgrade" (omega-3 ALA, antioxidants) | Leaves/stems (food) | Add a handful to meals. Raw is crisp; cooked becomes more mellow and slightly thickens soups. | Purslane has been described in multiple sources as an unusually rich vegetable source of alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3) and antioxidants. | [1] [5] |
| Land / Soil Issue | How Purslane Helps | Best Practice in the Field | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot, exposed soil that dries out | Acts as living mulch: low mat reduces evaporation and soil splash; thrives in heat. | In garden beds, tolerate a contained patch as seasonal groundcover and harvest it hard. | [1] |
| Drought stress and "it survives when everything else quits" | Purslane is a succulent with unusual drought flexibility; it can shift physiology under water stress (scientific literature discusses this adaptability). | As a clue: if purslane is thriving, the site is likely warm, bright, disturbed, and periodically water-stressed. | [2] |
| Disturbed ground / bare spots | Often colonizes disturbed, compacted, or high-traffic soil zones where slower plants lose the race. | Use it as a clue: check compaction, watering pattern, and fertilizer habits rather than just declaring war. | [3] |
| Unwanted spread in beds | Re-roots from stem fragments and drops lots of seed. | Harvest before seeding; do not leave stem pieces on moist soil; bag scrap if you want control. | [3] |