Quick Answer: Can You Eat Common Purslane?

Any purslane plant can be harvested and eaten, as the leaves, stems, and flowers are completely edible. When preparing wild purslane, it’s important to wash the plant carefully to ensure that no pesticides are on the leaves. Purslane is tart and a little salty, making it a great addition to salads and other dishes.

Can I eat purslane from my yard?

Using edible purslane plants, you can generally treat them like any other leafy green in your recipes, particularly as a substitute for spinach or watercress. The flavor is mild to sweet and slightly acidic. The simplest way to enjoy purslane herbs in food is to eat it fresh and raw, any way you would spinach.

Can you eat all types of purslane?

Eating Purslane The leaves, stems, flowers, and seeds of the purslane plant are all edible, but I’ve only eaten the stems and leaves myself. Purslane is terrific as part of a salad.

Which purslane is not edible?

Oftentimes the leaves and stems of spurges are densely to sparsely hairy, while those of purslane are hairless or possess only a few inconspicuous hairs. Spotted spurge (Euphorbia maculata, formerly Chamaesyce maculata) is poisonous and should not be consumed.

What looks like purslane but is poisonous?

The one thing important to know about purslane is that there is a “look alike” plant known as spurge, that might be mistaken for purslane, and it is poisonous. This is spurge. The stems of spurge are much thinner than purslane stems, and spurge leaves are thin, unlike purslane’s thick, succulent leaves.

What does common purslane taste like?

It has red stems and small, green leaves. It has a slightly sour or salty taste, similar to spinach and watercress. It can be used in many of the same ways as spinach and lettuce, such as in salads or sandwiches. Purslane grows in many parts of the world, in a wide range of environments.

How do you identify a purslane plant?

Identifying Purslane: Portulaca oleracea*

1. Purslane grows low along the ground, generally under 3″.
2. Purslane is a succulent.
3. Stems can be red or green with a reddish tinge.
4. Leaves grow out from the stalk in a “star”, of four leaves.
5. Purslane leaf edges are smooth, not serrated. (
6. Purslane stems are smooth and hairless.

Is purslane poisonous to humans?

Purslane is edible for humans and may be kept in vegetable or herb gardens. It also has many medicinal benefits. While purslane is nutritious to humans, it produces a toxic response in cats. Scientifically it is known as Portulaca oleracea of the Portulacaceae plant family.

Is purslane a Superfood?

It also happens to be a “superfood” high in heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids and beta carotene, one tasty enough to spread, like the weed it is, to farmers’ markets and fancy restaurants.

Can you cook purslane?

The leaves are hearty enough to stand up to light sautéing in a pan—try wilting them with garlic. Or throw the purslane into a grilled panzanella—the lemony bite goes well with grilled bread and vegetables. You can even toss some cooked purslane into a taco, where it will be a bright counterpoint to creamy avocado.

Is Common purslane an invasive species?

While purslane sometimes is considered an invasive weed, there is evidence to suggest it has been widely distributed across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and North America for thousands of years. Purslane is a low-lying annual succulent that produces small yellow flowers.

What is purslane similar to?

Watercress, parsley, spinach or arugula are common substitutes when purslane is unavailable.

How do you tell the difference between purslane and spurge?

Spurge is almost always smaller than purslane, its stems are thin and woody, and its leaves lack purslane’s distinctive fleshiness. When in doubt, there’s one fool-proof way to tell the difference: tear a stem. If it exudes a milky white sap, it is undoubtedly spurge.