Information About Wild Portulaca

Identification

• Portulaca grows flat, trailing along the ground, forming a circular mat. Its small yellow flowers have five notched petals and are usually open only in direct sunlight and only for a few hours a day. The leaves are green and plump and broadest near the tips, narrowing close to the stem. Typically, the stems are a reddish color. Its flowers give way to small dark seed capsules that break open and release tiny black seeds about the size of a grain of sand. Under the right conditions, a single plant can produce up to 52,300 seeds.

Habitat

• Wild portulaca is native to Europe but there are approximately 500 different species worldwide. This annual will establish itself almost anywhere--sometimes against the wishes of the gardener--provided the place has a growing season at least two months long. It can also be cultivated in an herb garden or in pots, and it will produce abundantly in recently turned, rich soil.

Uses

• The edible leaves of wild portulaca are a popular comfort food in Mexico. Frances Robinson of “Mother Earth News” describes the plant as “crunchy with a slight lemony taste.” It can easily be substituted for spinach in many recipes, and it is used in potato salad, soups and stews as a thickening agent.

Health Benefits

• Portulaca is high in protein, Vitamin E and Omega-3 fatty acids. It has six times the amount of Vitamin E as spinach and seven times more beta-carotene than carrots. Portulaca is also rich in iron, magnesium and potassium.

Eradication

• Wild portulaca is listed as a noxious weed in Arizona and commonly treated a weed in many other places. If you need to eradicate it, cultural control is the most effective method. Portulaca does not compete well with a healthy lawn. Grass that is allowed to grow slightly taller will prevent light from reaching the low-lying weeds. Hoe wild portulaca to destroy the roots--as much of them as possible to prevent them from re-rooting. If you cut off the plant and leave it on the soil, it may root again; moisture and food reserves in the plant will let it continue to produce seed, according to the Saskatchewan Agriculture Department.