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PURSLANE
(Portulaca oleracea)
summer purslane
Description:
Annual with thick, fleshy pink to green stems. Easily spreading
roots make plant mat-forming. Succulent, round leaves, alternate.
Small stalkless, bright yellow flowers bloom only on sunny mornings
in little terminal clusters at stem branching points. North America
in fertile sandy soil, cultivated areas and about every garden
in low to moderate elevations.
Edible,
Medicinal: Young tender leaves, branches picked from plant
top, edible raw or cooked. Tart, crisp greens, an excellent salad.
Used in soups, adds body, flavor and iron. Larger leaves and stems,
good pickled. Rinse well. Dried seed, ground, added to flour.
The whole plant is helpful for diarrhea, urinary infections, to
reduce fevers, cardiac weakness, breathing difficulties, the juice
to treat skin diseases.
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