http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/power-packed-purslane-zmaz05amzsel.aspx

http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/recipes/sns-food-recipes-sides-purslane-story.html

i knew that would come next ... lol ...

if you want to harvest it as a crop ... then grow it in the veg patch ...

but it CAN be an uncontrollable nightmare in a flower garden ... etc ...

its all about your definition of what your garden is ...

ken

Thank you both for your valuable comments. I've been wondering if it's purslane. If so, I want to eat it! But I've been afraid to because I'm not positive what it is. I've been tearing it out and tossing it, but maybe I don't want to completely eradicate it? Would love to get a broader consensus of opinions. Anybody else have a thought?

but maybe I don't want to completely eradicate it?

==>> dont worry.. you never will .. lol .. unless you put down heavy mulch and bury the billions of seed already in your soil ....

opinion about what ...? .. i dont think there is any confusion that its purslane ... and if you want to eat while you weed.. go for it ...

i am loathe to suggest peeps eat things out of the garden when ID is anything beyond elementary .... relying on peeps from the WWW .... but i dont think that is the case here ...

ken

Thanks, Ken. I really appreciate your comments!

Agree, confirm the ID of anything you're going to munch. For this plant, you would also observe the blooms. Mid-morning is probably the best time to catch them open. P. oleracea has very small yellow blooms:
http://garden.org/plants/view/78483/Purslane-Portulaca-oleracea/
You can then confirm it's not somehow still a similar looking Euphorbia by confirming there's no white sap inside the plant.

Whatever it is that is growing in my beds definitely blooms little yellow flowers because I've seen them bloom. I think it was in early summer, though, and haven't seen them flower in a while. Is purslane supposed to bloom all summer long?

And definitely no white sap when stem is broken.

I've never had a problem with purslane getting out of control. Spurge, a toxic plant that looks quite similar, is much worse. I've read that the white, milky sap in the spurge stem can cause blindness.

Thanks, Parker L. Yeah, definitely don't want to eat any part of a wild weedy spurge. I'm pretty sure what I have isn't spurge. Was leaning towards purslane since it blooms small yellow flowers and there is no white stuff coming out when broken - the main thing left bothering me is I'm not sure how "fleshy" and succulent my weeds' leaves are, as true purslane is described. I suppose they might be a little thick, but not nearly what I tend to think of when leaves are described as 'fleshy'.

To update - fwiw - I took a sample of my "weed" and confirmed with a local university horticulture division that it is indeed common purslane. Just as the smart people here thought. Thanks for everyone's comments.

Thanks for the follow-up!

I took a sample of my "weed" and confirmed with a local university horticulture division

==>>> absolutely brilliant .... i usually recommend confirmation with locals ....

sooooo... eating it or not??? .... lol ... ken

Well, lol many will, but yes, I am eating it. I decided why not? If I'm pulling it out anyway, why throw good nutrition away? Besides that, I've been looking online and found some tempting-sounding salad recipes I want to try - purslane salad with cherries and peaches and a dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and lime juice. Sounds delicious and the photo is beautiful. Also I want to try another one using purslane, grilled corn and red onions topped with a creamy avacado dressing. Surely both of those are hands-down more nutritious than the iceberg lettuce-tomato salad smothered in Ranch dressing I've been eating for years! I never had so much fun with a weed.

I've always known purslane as a barnyard weed and very difficult to eliminate, especially in a veggie garden setting with no mulch.

Mike

I guess it depends where you live. In Phoenix, Arizona, I grow purslane on purpose in my garden to use as salad greens, and it is one of the few plants that is edible and yet can withstand the high heat of summer. It never gets very weedy here. I have to actually water it and care for it, or else it will die out. Sad, but true. Horse Purslane (which is not a true purslane) on the other hand grows like a weed here. But it doesn't taste very good at all. Maybe only horses like it.