beavis
Deeply Rooted
I have been doing research on this little "weed" and I am wondering if what I have growing is purslane.
The first picture is a stock photo of purslane,the last two are growing as weeds in my garden.
I am just wary if there is a lookalike plant that might be poisonous.
Here is the low down on purslane:
Purslane (portulaca oleracea), also called verdolaga, pigweed, little hogweed, or pusley, is a weed, or is it? It is naturalized the world over and is a very very successful plant. It can grow in cold northern areas, it is succulent so it can withstand droughts (not unlike sedum actually), it can handle poor soils, and it has this neat trick whereby if it is uprooted it will use stored energy to produce seeds. So all those gardeners that uproot it as a weed and toss it elsewhere are really just spreading it. As such it can be invasive.
But is it a weed if it is a food crop, something cultivated for thousands of years in other parts of the world, and still eaten there today? A superfood with more omega-3s than any other leafy vegetable (so long spinach), as well as oodles of of other vitamins and cancer fighting antioxtidants and health benefits? A plant that is so versatile it can be eaten raw, sauted or stir-fried, even used in soups and stews? Supposedly it also has medicinal properties for a healthy GI tract.
The first picture is a stock photo of purslane,the last two are growing as weeds in my garden.
I am just wary if there is a lookalike plant that might be poisonous.
Here is the low down on purslane:
Purslane (portulaca oleracea), also called verdolaga, pigweed, little hogweed, or pusley, is a weed, or is it? It is naturalized the world over and is a very very successful plant. It can grow in cold northern areas, it is succulent so it can withstand droughts (not unlike sedum actually), it can handle poor soils, and it has this neat trick whereby if it is uprooted it will use stored energy to produce seeds. So all those gardeners that uproot it as a weed and toss it elsewhere are really just spreading it. As such it can be invasive.
But is it a weed if it is a food crop, something cultivated for thousands of years in other parts of the world, and still eaten there today? A superfood with more omega-3s than any other leafy vegetable (so long spinach), as well as oodles of of other vitamins and cancer fighting antioxtidants and health benefits? A plant that is so versatile it can be eaten raw, sauted or stir-fried, even used in soups and stews? Supposedly it also has medicinal properties for a healthy GI tract.
