Wild Purslane (Portulaca olearacea)is *very* tasty. One of my favorite yard gathers. Crisp, very fresh and peppery. Lucky there is a lot in the yard, and I encourage it and weed around it in the veggie garden. I munch so much out there that there wouldn't be much left to gather otherwise....

Most varieties of Portulaca in garden centers are bred for larger flowers and more prolific flowers, and specific flower colors, and the flavor is often just lost. Sort of like fancy florist roses that have lost all their scent in the breeding for size, petal count, and colors.

Hopefully, the variety of seed you're getting from Wild Garden is the wild, not a highly bred variety.....

Thanks Linda, you are giving me hope. I read how healthy purslane is and was just so disappointed at the flavor. I don't even think the stuff I bought from the nursery is edible.

the seed I ordered from Wild Garden is described to have flavor so here is hoping!

I love purslane. The leaves, stems, and seeds all have some essential oil. The plant has Vit C and A, seeds have Vit E. I just pinch off pieces as I am gardening, and eat a few raw green beans along with it, with a basil leaf or two, a tomato, maybe a pepper. I love purslane for its cooling sensation and slight tang.

Just be aware that Purslane is VERY aggressive, and invasive. It is a pest plant here, it will root by seed and by any cutting touching the ground..I planted 1 plant and the following summer it was everywhere.Donna

I've had no luck growing purslane, if you can believe it. I do have it growing in the cracks of my bricks in the yard, but they never seem to get big enough to be worth harvesting, and they stay very low and tight to the ground, so even getting them up without only ending up with a loose leaf here and there is difficult. Last year, I collected tons of seeds, and tossed them into a pot, hoping to get some that would be more easily harvestable. I ended up with a couple of sad looking plants, and again, I didn't have enough to really dig into. For some reason, it doesn't seem to want to grow here, except up through my walkway.

I have it growing wild, but no tang! I bought seed, let it grow and still no tang. I think it would really taste great if it had some tang to it. so my question is, Why I have no tang to mine? anyone know? could it be the PH of the soil? or just my taste buds.

I don't know guys. I'll let you know what I think once these seeds start to grow. If purslane over seeds itself in my backyard , no biggie to me.

I hope the seeds I'm growing will produce plants , large enough to eat and that they are tasty. Right now they are growing but they are ity bitty.

My mom is from India and she cooks it with lentils and we eat the lentils with rice...very yummie...it has a tangy taste and substitue it with tomato..
I hjust bought a small piece of branch from my friend and in the third year(this year) I find it in all flower pots...its very invasive and pennial(becos I took the pots inside for winter)

We have purslane growing wild in our garden and we LOVE it.

I made potato salad the other day and put the tender raw leaves and stem in it. YUM.

I also soak the stems in apple cider vinagar for a couple days in a plastic container with lid. They come out tasting just like pickle relish and are GREAT on hot dogs.(Never have to buy pickle relish again)

We also cook some up with lambs quarters in a frying pan with 1/4 cup water. They reduce down and the purslane have a okra texture but the combination of plants works wonderful together. A little butter, salt and pepper and WOW!

I also use it raw in salads of every kind.

Try it...you'll like it!

I have a bunch of wild purslane hiding in my moss rose bed and taking over a hanging basket. I found a recipe for pickled purslane and thought I would try it and see what else is in the basket besides some starfish flower starts. thanks for the info.