? Portulaca oleracea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Caryophyllales Family: Portulacaceae Genus: Portulaca Species: P. oleracea
Binomial name
Portulaca oleracea L.

Portulaca oleracea (Common Purslane, also known as Pigweed, Little Hogweed or Pusley), is an annual succulent in the family Portulacaceae. It is a native of India and the Middle East, which can reach 40 cm in height. It has smooth, reddish, mostly prostrate stems and alternate leaves clustered at stem joints and ends. The yellow flowers have five regular parts and are up to 0.6 cm wide. The flowers first appear in late spring and continue into mid fall. The flowers open singly at the center of the leaf cluster for only a few hours on sunny mornings. Seeds are formed in a tiny pod, which opens when the seeds are ready. Purslane has a taproot with fibrous secondary roots and is able to tolerate poor, compacted soils and drought. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants (also angiosperms or Magnoliophyta) are one of the major groups of modern plants, comprising those that produce seeds in specialized reproductive organs called flowers, where the ovulary or carpel is enclosed. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class: this name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Magnoliaceae by the termination -opsida (Art 16 of the ICBN). ... Families Achatocarpaceae Aizoaceae (Fig-marigold family) Amaranthaceae (amaranth family) Ancistrocladaceae Asteropeiaceae Barbeuiaceae Basellaceae (basella family) Cactaceae (cactus family) Caryophyllaceae (carnation family) Dioncophyllaceae Droseraceae (sundew family) Drosophyllaceae Frankeniaceae Molluginaceae (carpetweed family) Nepenthaceae Nyctaginaceae (four-oclock family) Physenaceae Phytolaccaceae (pokeweed family) Plumbaginaceae (plumbago family) Polygonaceae (buckwheat family) Portulacaceae (purslane family) Rhabdodendraceae... Genera about 20, see text The Portulacaceae, or purslane family, comprises about 20 genera with about 500 species. ... Species about 100, see text Portulaca is the type genus of the Purslane family Portulacaceae, comprising about 100-200 species (probably much fewer) found in the tropics and subtropics. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers and dies in one year. ... Succulent plants, or succulents, are plants that store water in their enlarged fleshy leaves, stems, or roots. ... Genera about 20, see text The Portulacaceae, or purslane family, comprises about 20 genera with about 500 species. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... Clivia miniata bears bright orange flowers. ... In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... The dandelions taproot, quite apparent in this drawing, renders this plant very difficult to uproot – the plant itself gives way, but the root stays in the ground and may sprout again. ... Soil is the material on the surface of a lithosphere subject to weathering, and especially the earthy portion of that material. ...

A Purslane cultivar grown as a vegetable

Although purslane is considered a weed in the United States, it can be eaten as a leaf vegetable. It has a slightly sour and salty taste and is eaten throughout much of Europe and Asia. It can be used fresh as a salad, or cooked like spinach, and due to its mucilaginous quality it is also suitable for soups and stews. Portulaca sativa cultivar File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Portulaca sativa cultivar File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A weed is an unwanted plant. ... Chinese cabbage Swiss chard Leaf vegetables, also called greens or leafy greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. ... Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents of Earth which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiographic one, leading to various perspectives about Europes borders. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... A salad is a food item generally served either before or after the main dish as a separate course, as a main course in itself, or as a side dish accompanying the main dish. ... Binomial name Spinacia oleracea L. Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is a flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae, native to central and southwestern Asia. ... Mucilage is a thick gluey substance, often produced by plants. ... Soup is a savoury liquid food that is made by combining ingredients, such as meat, vegetables and beans in stock or hot water, until the flavor is extracted, forming a broth. ... Beef Stew A stew is a common dish made of vegetables and meat cooked in some sort of broth or sauce. ...

Purslane contains more Omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable plant. It is one of the very few plants that contains the long-chain omega-3 EPA.^[1]  It also contains vitamins (mainly vitamin C, and some vitamin B and carotenoids, as well as dietary minerals, such as magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron. Also present are two types of betalain alkaloid pigments, the reddish betacyanins (visible in the coloration of the stems) and the yellow betaxanthins (noticeable in the flowers and in the slight yellowish cast of the leaves). Both of these pigment types are potent antioxidants and have been found to have antimutagenic properties in laboratory studies. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Vegetables in a market Venn diagram representing the relationship between (botanical) fruits and vegetables. ... Eicosapentaenoic acid (more commonly known as EPA; C20H30O2, all-cis-fatty acid 20:5 omega-3) is a polyunsaturated fatty acid that acts as a precursor for prostaglandin-3, which inhibits platelet aggregation) and thromboxane-3 groups. ... A vitamin is an organic molecule required by a living organism in minute amounts for proper health. ... Chemical structure of vitamin C. Vitamin C is a water-soluble nutrient essential for life, used by the human body for many purposes. ... Vitamin B is a complex of several vitamins. ... Carotenoids are organic pigments naturally occurring in plants and some other photosynthetic organisms like algae, some types of fungus and some bacteria. ... Dietary minerals are the chemical elements required by living organisms, other than the four elements Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and Oxygen which are ubiquitous in organic molecules. ... General Name, Symbol, Number magnesium, Mg, 12 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 3, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 24. ... General Name, Symbol, Number calcium, Ca, 20 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 4, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 40. ... General Name, Symbol, Number potassium, K, 19 Chemical series alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1, 4, s Appearance silvery white Atomic mass 39. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ...

References

1. ↑  ARTEMIS P SIMOPOULOS (2004). Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Antioxidants in Edible Wild Plants. URL accessed on February 22, 2006. Biol Res 37: 263-277, 2004

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Portulaca oleracea