Portulaca, Wingpod Purslane 'Mixed Hybrids, Noids'

Unless you want this to come up all over the yard for years, DON"T plant this noxious weed! This was planted in my yard over 20 years a...Read Morego. It was pretty until it just got so hot in July that it would wilt even with watering once or twice a day. I pulled it up to plant something else, but it still comes up all over the yard even 10 yards away from where it was planted. HATE this plant! It is not even sold here anymore for a good reason.

Would anyone have the true species form of P. umbraticola growing in cultivation? All of the ones photographed here appear to be the mode...Read Morern cultivars, which are not species but actually apomictic cultivars resulting from selective outcrossing and hybridization.

This plant grows in a pot in my yard in south Florida and disappears after a few months. I thought this was because of the large amount ...Read Moreof summer rainfall here. Now I think it just can't grow year round. Even in our frost free environment, it is an annual.

San Antonio, TX
Sometimes sold incorrectly under the name of Portulaca oleracea, this portulaca is easily identifiable by the prom...Read Moreinent margin on the fruit capsule. The flowers are small and open only part of the day and do not open fully on very cloudy days, like all portulaca. The name "Portulaca" is a derivative of "portare" (Latin) which means to carry and lac (milk) which refers to the plant's milky sap. Seeds are formed in a tiny pod which opens when the seeds are ready. My plants reseed themselves in late spring with some emerging in early summer. This is the "native" purslane. The flowers are 2/3 inch (1.5 cm) or less across and have 5 rounded petals with yellow at their base. As the temperatures begin to cool and the amount of daylight decreases, so does bloom production. They are killed by the first heavy frost.

Young leaves and tender stem tips can be used as a potherb, but are usually eaten raw in salads. It has a tart, lemony taste or sometimes no taste at all. It contains a high level of Omega-3 fatty acids and protein (2 to 2.5%) compared to other vegetables. In fact, it is a better nutrient source than spinach. Seeds may be eaten either raw or ground and made into bread.