Purslane Uses and Plant Monograph
This purslane monograph is an excerpt from Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine by Rosalee de la Forêt and Emily Han.
Springing up from cracks in the sidewalk, purslane softens concrete jungles. Creeping over garden beds in summer, it offers relief from hot weather. This succulent plant is an enthusiastic volunteer—some may consider it overenthusiastic—determined to offer its gifts. We would do well to accept them, as the lives of people and purslane have been interwoven for as long as we can remember.
Dozens of purslane varieties grow around the world, on every continent except Antarctica. Portulaca oleracea is the most commonly found species. The exact origin of purslane is unknown, and scientists have variously traced it to North Africa, India, western Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Australia! Early peoples most likely had a hand in spreading it far and wide. In North America, archaeologists have excavated purslane seeds dating from between 1000 B.C.E. and 750 C.E. It was used as a medicinal plant in ancient Egypt and has been cultivated on the Arabian Peninsula and in the Mediterranean region since the Middle Ages. All over the planet, purslane continues to be an accessible source of food and medicine.
“Healing and nutritious, the humble purslane has graced dinner plates and medicine bags for thousands of years. Walking over purslane is to walk over medicine.”
-Sade Musa
Purslane Uses & Plant Profile Summary:
- Botanical Name: Portulaca oleracea; also P. grandiflora, P. pilosa, P. sativa, and other species
- Other Common Names: pigweed, portulaca, pursley, pussley, verdolaga
- Family: Portulacaceae
- Parts Used: leaves, stems, flower buds, seed capsules
- Energetics: cooling, moistening
- Taste: sour
- Plant Properties: analgesic, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antispasmodic, demulcent, diuretic, febrifuge, inflammatory modulator, laxative, vermifuge
- Plant Uses: burns, constipation, cough, dermatitis, diarrhea, dysentery, fever, food, headache, inflammation, insect bites and stings, itchy skin, stomachache, ulcer, worms, wounds
- Plant Preparations: food, juice, poultice, tea, wash
Medicinal Properties and Energetics
Purslane is known for its ability to grow in hot, dry conditions, and it can be called on for heat and dryness in the body, too. When crushed, the leaves and stems are juicy, slippery, and mucilaginous or demulcent. Purslane is cooling and moistening, and it can be used to soothe hot, irritated tissues, as in the case of sunburn or a dry cough, or simply to cool down on a summer day. The taste of purslane is reflected in its Dhofari Arabic name, humdeh, which means “sour” or “acid.”
Provides Nutrient-Dense Food
Every part of this exceptionally nutritious plant is edible. Researchers have identified purslane as the richest vegetable source of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an essential omega-3 fatty acid that has been shown to help prevent heart disease and stroke and may protect against cancer. Purslane has five times more omega-3 content than spinach and is considered a particularly good source of omega-3s for people who don’t consume fish oils. In addition, purslane contains high amounts of vitamin A (from beta-carotene), vitamin C (from ascorbic acid), and vitamin E (from alpha-tocopherol), as well as potassium, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, and iron.1
Fortunately, this nutrient-rich food is also tasty. As a result of its wide spread around the world, you can find ways to prepare this lemony herb in numerous culinary traditions. Although the leaves and stems are the parts most commonly eaten, aboriginal peoples in Australia have used the seeds for food. Clinical studies have shown purslane seeds to have promise for cardiovascular health and treatment of type 2 diabetes.2
Soothes the Skin
Purslane’s demulcent qualities make it useful for hot, irritated skin conditions. Similar to aloe vera gel, purslane can soothe superficial burns, sunburns, insect bites and stings, heat rashes, and other inflamed or itchy skin. The leaves and stems can be mashed to make a poultice, or a wash can be made from the juice or a decoction. A mash can be applied to the face for a soothing and antioxidant-rich face mask. Purslane has also been used as a compress to alleviate headaches and fever discomfort.
Relaxes the Muscles
Purslane poultices, juices, and aqueous extracts have been used in traditional West African medicine for various conditions, including muscle aches. In a clinical study in Nigeria, researchers gave patients with muscle spasticity a topical extract prepared from fresh Portulaca oleracea leaves and stems. They found that it was an effective muscle relaxant, reducing spasms by 50 percent in some patients.3 Researchers believe this antispasmodic property is due to purslane’s high concentration of potassium.4
How to Identify
Purslane thrives in a variety of conditions but particularly in disturbed soils. This low-growing plant has succulent leaves and thick stems that branch out from a central taproot and sprawl along the ground. Its fleshy leaves are ovate to oblong, flat, smooth, and arranged either oppositely or alternately along the stem. The stems, and sometimes the leaf edges, may be reddish. It has small yellow flowers with five petals. The fruit is a little capsule that splits to release numerous tiny black seeds.
Ecological Connections
As a living ground cover and companion plant, purslane can maintain moisture in soil, and its taproots can break up hard soil and bring up nutrients. Purslane flowers generally self-pollinate or pollinate by wind. Seeds are dispersed by wind as well as birds and small mammals that occasionally eat the seeds. Purslane is a host plant for the larvae of sawflies (Schizocerella spp.) and the portulaca leaf-mining weevil (Hypurus bertrandiperris), both of which can kill the plant if present in large numbers.
How to Harvest
Heat-loving purslane is typically a summer plant and may have several generations in one season. Gather it anytime, as long as the leaves and stems are tender and succulent; older purslane may be fibrous. Purslane picked early in the morning tastes more sour, as it has a higher malic acid content. Using your fingers or scissors, harvest individual leaves or tender sections of stem (or pull out the entire plant if weeding a garden). To encourage regrowth, pick
only the tops, leaving at least a couple of inches behind. Flowers and seeds may also be eaten.
Purslane reproduces easily from seed. A single plant can produce 240,000 seeds, which can remain dormant for up to 40 years! To encourage future growth, allow it to self-seed. Conversely, do not let purslane go to seed if you’re trying to prevent it from spreading. Broken stem fragments can also root naturally or with human help.
Harvesting Cautions
Be sure to avoid the poisonous spurge (Euphorbia spp.), which has a somewhat similar appearance and often grows near purslane. Spurge has thinner (and sometimes hairy) stems and flatter, non-succulent leaves. A broken stem of spurge will exude milky white sap that can irritate the skin.
Gardening Tips
Purslane has adapted to all types of soils and can quickly cover an area with its trailing vines. Propagate by casting seed on the surface of soil, but do not cover; purslane seeds require light for germination. Stem cuttings can also be easily propagated: place cuttings on top of soil, press lightly, and keep moist until the plant begins to root. To produce large, juicy leaves, plant in rich soil, fertilize with composted manure in the spring, and water regularly. Purslane grows well in containers.
Using Purslane in Your Life
Purslane may be eaten fresh or cooked and is a common ingredient in many global cuisines. The succulent, lemony leaves and stems make a great addition to green salads, potato salad,
sandwiches, juices, smoothies, and cold soups like gazpacho. They can also be steamed, sautéed, boiled in soups, and pickled (a good use for leftover stems). Purslane turns slightly more mucilaginous when cooked.
Fresh purslane leaves may be juiced to drink or for use as an external wash. The leaves can also be mashed to make a poultice. Other traditional uses include fresh or dried purslane infusions and decoctions taken internally or used as an external wash. Herbalist Briana Wiles recommends infusing purslane in vinegar to extract its mineral content, or infusing it in oil to make salves and serums.5
Recommended Amounts
Purslane is both medicine and food. As a result, the dosage can be quite high when eaten as a vegetable, with the caveats below.
Special Considerations
- Avoid eating large amounts of raw purslane, especially if you easily form calcium oxalate kidney stones. Cooking or blanching reduces the oxalates.
- Animal studies have shown that large amounts of purslane may induce uterine contractions. Medicinal use is not recommended during pregnancy except under the supervision of a qualified health-care practitioner.6
- Animal studies have shown that purslane may modify glucose regulation. People with diabetes are advised to consult a qualified health-care practitioner before use.7
Footnotes
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