Common purslane

An annual succulent herb up to 40 cm tall, with a taproot and fibrous roots, tolerant of hard, nutrient-poor clay and drought. Stems are smooth, not jointed and usually prostrate (sometimes red or purple), much branched. Leaves are alternate with short petioles and flat obovate blades 10–30 × 5–15 mm. Small flowers form clusters of 3–5, with five yellow petals, 0.4–0.5 cm across and 7–12 stamens. The fruit is an ovoid capsule about 5 mm long; seeds are glossy black, kidney-shaped, 0.6–1.2 mm. It flowers May–August and fruits June–September, and is widely regarded as a weed.

All parts are edible raw or cooked: in salads, boiled, in soups or stir-fried. Purslane tastes slightly sour and salty and becomes mildly mucilaginous when cooked; it is unusually rich in the omega-3 fatty acid ALA for a leafy green, and in vitamins A, C and E, magnesium, potassium, calcium and iron. Traditionally it is considered cooling and diuretic and used to support digestion; it is also fed to livestock. Note: purslane is fairly high in oxalates, so people with a history of kidney stones should eat it in moderation.