Thursday, July 10, 2014

Purslane

I have been searching for this plant for awhile trying to identify it.  Purslane is more of a summer plant that carpets the ground.  It is described as a succulent-the stems and leaves are thicker and hold more water.  The whole plant is edible raw or cooked, except the single taproot, which the plant stems out from.  Walking my dog, I came across a healthy patch and sampled it on the spot.  Not a bad taste.  I will introduce this plant to the family by adding it to salads and steaming it with some traditional vegetables.  It has more vitamins than spinach, plus Omega 3.  I step out of my door and see plants for eating, cordage, medicine, and firemaking - lamb's quarters, plantain, wood sorrel, jerusalem artichoke, yucca, mullein, mint, dandelion, etc.  There are a number of patches of plants I do not recognize, so that should be my next goal - identifying them.  I agree with the 80/20 principle, Creek Stewart states in his book "The Unofficial Hunger Games Wilderness Survival Guide":  there are hundreds of wild edible plants, focus on learning/using the 20% you see 80% of the time.