Common purlsane Portulaca oleracea ssp.sativus

Well, I bought seeds from common Purslane, but what kind of plant is it?


Apparently it is an old cultivated plant in Sweden and Europe, and it is common to grow it in containers (although the most common way is to plant it in the garden). It looks much like Jade plant (crassula ovata) which is to be found in pots in every place where people show a certain neglect in watering. It's perhaps a good idea not to grow the two plants in the same space. Purlsane is nice enough to grow new branches once you\ve cut it down, as long as you leave stubbs of two inches length. It tastes sour, and contains oxalic acids (like rubarb and spinach), flavonoids and Omega-3 fatty acids.


Before you jump for joy because of the \newfound\ source of Omega-3 I\ll remind you that we are talking plants here. The fat level of plants are in general very low, unless you look at nuts and ceratain fruits. However, I have a feeling that purslane is kind of the plant world shmoo.


You can use it as spinach, but that doesn't say much since spinach is the leaf vegetable world's answer to chicken, ie. if anything isn't possible to use in a very special way it's to be used as spinach. I guess I have to grow it to taste it myself.