Portulaca oleracea | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Portulacaceae |
Genus: | Portulaca |
Species: | P. oleracea |
Binomial name | |
Portulaca oleracea | |
Portulaca oleracea (common purslane, also known as little hogweed, or pursley) [1] is an annual (actually tropical perennial in USDA growing zones 10–11) succulent in the family Portulacaceae.
The plant may reach 40 centimetres (16 inches) in height. It has smooth, reddish, mostly prostrate stems, and the leaves, which may be alternate or opposite, are clustered at stem joints and ends. [2] The yellow flowers have five regular parts and are up to 6 millimetres (1⁄4 inch) wide. Depending upon rainfall, the flowers appear at any time during the year. The flowers open singly at the center of the leaf cluster for only a few hours on sunny mornings. The tiny seeds [3] are formed in a pod that opens when the seeds mature. Purslane has a taproot with fibrous secondary roots and can tolerate poor soil and drought. [4]
The fruits are many-seeded capsules. The seed set is considerable; one plant can develop up to 193,000 seeds.[ citation needed ] The seeds germinate optimally at a temperature above 25 °C; they are light germinators, with even a soil cover of 5 mm having a negative effect on germination.[ citation needed ]
P. oleracea is one of the very few plants able to utilize both CAM and C4 photosynthesis pathways, for a long time believed to be incompatible with each other despite biochemical similarities. P. oleracea will switch from C4 to CAM pathways during drought, and there is transcription regulation and physiological evidence for C4-CAM hybrid photosynthesis during mild drought. [5]
P. oleracea was recorded in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum . [6] Due to the great variability, a large number of subspecies and varieties have been described as species of their own, but according to other publications, they all fall within the range of variation of P. oleracea. The synonyms P. oleracea subsp. sativa, P. sativa, and P. oleracea var. sativa, which are more common in the literature, refer to a somewhat more robust form in cultivation with larger seeds that cannot be separated from the species. Approximately 40 cultivars of P. oleracea are currently grown. [7]
The flowering plant more commonly known as winter purslane ( Claytonia perfoliata ) is a member of the Montiaceae family and is not closely related.
The specific epithet oleracea means "vegetable/herbal" in Latin and is a form of holeraceus (oleraceus), from holus 'vegetable'. [8] [9] The genus name portulāca is simply the plant's name in Latin. [10]
Purslane has an extensive distribution, assumed to be mostly anthropogenic (or hemerochoric), [11] extending from North Africa and Southern Europe through the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent to Malesia and Australasia. The species status in the Americas is uncertain. In general, it is often considered an exotic weed, but there is evidence that the species was in Crawford Lake deposits (Ontario) in 1350–1539, suggesting that it reached North America in the pre-Columbian era. Scientists suggested that the plant was already eaten by Native Americans, who spread its seeds. How it reached the Americas is currently unknown. [12]
Compared to other common crops, P. oleracea is more tolerant of pests due to its waxy cover, which protects the plant from insects and diseases. In some instances, P. oleracea is even known to have antifungal properties. [13] However some phytotoxic metabolites of Drechslera indica , a fungus, can cause necrosis on purslane. [14] Dichotomophthora portulacae , another fungus, can cause stem rot. [15] P. oleracea is a known host plant of Hyles lineata . [16] [17]
Schizocerella pilicornis and Hypurus bertrandi are known to feed on Portulaca oleracea. In some instances, they may help control the competitiveness of P. oleracea to prevent weed infestation in fields where P. oleracea is not wanted, however, they do not stop it from growing completely. [18]
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | |
---|---|
Energy | 84 kJ (20 kcal) |
3.39 g | |
0.36 g | |
2.03 g | |
Vitamins | Quantity %DV† |
Vitamin A | 1320 IU |
Thiamine (B1) | 4% 0.047 mg |
Riboflavin (B2) | 9% 0.112 mg |
Niacin (B3) | 3% 0.48 mg |
Vitamin B6 | 4% 0.073 mg |
Folate (B9) | 3% 12 μg |
Vitamin C | 23% 21 mg |
Vitamin E | 81% 12.2 mg |
Minerals | Quantity %DV† |
Calcium | 5% 65 mg |
Iron | 11% 1.99 mg |
Magnesium | 16% 68 mg |
Manganese | 13% 0.303 mg |
Phosphorus | 4% 44 mg |
Potassium | 16% 494 mg |
Zinc | 2% 0.17 mg |
Other constituents | Quantity |
Water | 92.86 g |
†Percentages estimated using US recommendations for adults, [19] except for potassium, which is estimated based on expert recommendation from the National Academies. [20] |
Raw purslane is 93% water, 3% carbohydrates, 2% protein, and contains negligible fat (table). In a 100-gram reference amount, purslane supplies 20 calories, and rich amounts (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of vitamin E (81% DV) and vitamin C (25% DV), with moderate content (11–19% DV) of several dietary minerals (table). Purslane is a rich source of alpha-linolenic acid, an essential omega-3 fatty acid. [21]
All parts of purslane are edible raw or cooked. The seeds can be eaten raw or used to make flour. [22]
The plant may be eaten as a leaf vegetable. [23] William Cobbett noted that it was "eaten by Frenchmen and pigs when they can get nothing else. Both use it in salad, that is to say, raw". [24] It has a slightly sour and salty taste and is eaten throughout much of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Mexico. [7] [25] The stems, leaves, and flower buds are all edible raw or cooked. [26] Purslane may be used fresh as a salad, [27] stir-fried, or cooked as spinach is, and because of its mucilaginous quality it also is suitable for soups and stews. The sour taste is due to oxalic and malic acid, the latter of which is produced through the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) pathway that is seen in many xerophytes (plants living in dry conditions) and is at its highest when the plant is harvested in the early morning. [28]
Aboriginal Australians use the seeds of purslane to make seedcakes. Greeks, who call it andrákla ( αντράκλα ) or glistrída ( γλιστρίδα ), use the leaves and the stems with feta cheese, tomato, onion, garlic, oregano, and olive oil. They add it to salads, boil it, or add it to casseroled chicken. In Turkey, besides being used in salads and baked pastries, it is cooked as a vegetable similar to spinach or is mixed with yogurt to form a tzatziki variant. [29] In Egypt, the vegetable is known as regla (رجلة) it is also cooked as a vegetable stew, similar to how spinach and malva (خبيزة) are cooked, but not fresh in salads.[ citation needed ] In Kurdistan, people commonly make a kind of soup from it called palpina soup (شۆربای پەڵپینە). In the Alentejo region of Portugal, purslane is used for cooking a traditional soup (sopa de beldroegas) which is topped with soaked bread, poached eggs, and/or goats' cheese. [30] In Mexico and the American Southwest, the plant is consumed as "verdolagas."
Salination of agricultural soils decreases the yields of many crops, and salt-sensitive species can no longer be cultivated on such soils. Purslane has a high tolerance for salt, making it suitable for cropping in areas where irrigation is carried out with water with high chloride-based salinity. [31]
Purslane can remove salt from the cultivation medium under saline conditions. As an intercrop or during one growing season, it can remove 210 kg/ha of chloride and 65 kg/ha of sodium when cultivated at 6.5 dS *m−1, allowing growth of salt-sensitive plants on saline soils. [32] In salty conditions, purslane has a positive effect on companion plants such as tomatoes. [33]
Archaeobotanical finds are common at many Mediterranean prehistoric sites. In historic contexts, seeds have been retrieved from a protogeometric layer in Kastanas, as well as from the Samian Heraion dating to the 7th century BC. In the 4th century BC, Theophrastus names purslane, andrákhne (ἀνδράχνη), as one of the several summer pot herbs that must be sown in April (Enquiry into Plants 7.1.2). [34] As Portulaca it figures in the long list of comestibles enjoyed by the Milanese given by Bonvesin de la Riva in his "Marvels of Milan" (1288). [35]
In antiquity, its healing properties were thought so reliable that Pliny the Elder advised wearing the plant as an amulet to expel all evil ( Natural History 20.210). [34]
Verdolaga, the Spanish word for purslane, is a nickname for South American football clubs with green-white schemes in their uniforms, including Colombia's Atletico Nacional and Argentina's Ferrocarril Oeste.[ citation needed ] Afro-Colombian singer Totó la Momposina sings a song entitled “La Verdolaga.”
Kohlrabi, also called German turnip or turnip cabbage, is a biennial vegetable, a low, stout cultivar of wild cabbage. It is a cultivar of the same species as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, and gai lan.
Lettuce is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, such as soups, sandwiches and wraps; it can also be grilled. One variety, celtuce, is grown for its stems, which are eaten either raw or cooked. In addition to its main use as a leafy green, it has also gathered religious and medicinal significance over centuries of human consumption. Europe and North America originally dominated the market for lettuce, but by the late 20th century the consumption of lettuce had spread throughout the world. As of 2021, world production of lettuce and chicory was 27 million tonnes, 53 percent of which came from China.
The chickpea or chick pea is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram or Bengal gram, chhana, chana, or channa, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high in protein. It is one of the earliest cultivated legumes, the oldest archaeological evidence of which was found in Syria.
Pea is a pulse, vegetable or fodder crop, but the word often refers to the seed or sometimes the pod of this flowering plant species, formerly 'Pisum sativum', it has been proposed to rename the species as Lathyrus oleraceus. Each pod contains several seeds (peas), which can have green or yellow cotyledons when mature. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and develop from the ovary of a (pea) flower. The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the Fabaceae such as the pigeon pea, the cowpea, the seeds from several species of Lathyrus and is used as a compound form for example Sturt's desert pea.
Spinach is a leafy green flowering plant native to central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common edible vegetable consumed either fresh, or after storage using preservation techniques by canning, freezing, or dehydration. It may be eaten cooked or raw, and the taste differs considerably; the high oxalate content may be reduced by steaming.
Momordica charantia is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean for its edible fruit. Its many varieties differ substantially in the shape and bitterness of the fruit.
Collard is a group of loose-leafed cultivars of Brassica oleracea, the same species as many common vegetables including cabbage and broccoli. Part of the Acephala (kale) cultivar group, it is also classified as the variety B. oleracea var. viridis.
Kale, also called leaf cabbage, belongs to a group of cabbage cultivars primarily grown for their edible leaves. It has also been used as an ornamental plant.
Cirsium oleraceum, the cabbage thistle or Siberian thistle, is a species of thistle in the genus Cirsium within the family Asteraceae, native to central and eastern Europe and Asia, where it grows in wet lowland soils.
Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad greens.
Butternut squash, known in Australia and New Zealand as butternut pumpkin or gramma, is a type of winter squash that grows on a vine. It has a sweet, nutty taste similar to that of a pumpkin. It has tan-yellow skin and orange fleshy pulp with a compartment of seeds in the blossom end. When ripening, the flesh turns increasingly deep orange due to its rich content of beta-carotene, a provitamin A compound.
Pachyrhizus erosus, commonly known as jícama or Mexican turnip, is a native Mexican vine, although the name jícama most commonly refers to the plant's edible tuberous root. It is in the pea family (Fabaceae). Pachyrhizus tuberosus and Pachyrhizus ahipa are the other two cultivated species in the genus. The naming of this group of edible plants can sometimes be confusing, with much overlap of similar or the same common names.
Purslane is a common name for several mostly unrelated plants with edible leaves and may refer to:
Sonchus oleraceus is a species of flowering plant in the tribe Cichorieae of the family Asteraceae, native to Europe and Western Asia. It has many common names including common sowthistle, sow thistle, smooth sow thistle, annual sow thistle, hare's colwort, hare's thistle, milky tassel, milk thistle. and soft thistle.
Neptunia oleracea, commonly known in English as water mimosa or sensitive neptunia, is pantropical nitrogen-fixing perennial legume. Genus and common name come from Neptune, god of the sea, in reference to the aquatic habit of some species in the genus.
Roystonea oleracea, sometimes known as the Caribbean royal palm, palmiste, imperial palm or cabbage palm, is a species of palm which is native to the Lesser Antilles, Colombia, Venezuela, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is also reportedly naturalized in Guyana and on the islands of Mauritius and Réunion in the Indian Ocean.
Acmella oleracea is a species of flowering herb in the family Asteraceae. Common names include toothache plant, Szechuan buttons, paracress, jambu, buzz buttons, tingflowers and electric daisy. Its native distribution is unclear, but it is likely derived from a Brazilian Acmella species. A small, erect plant, it grows quickly and bears gold and red inflorescences. It is frost-sensitive but perennial in warmer climates.
This is a categorically-organized list of foods. Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is produced either by plants, animals, or fungi, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells in an effort to produce energy, maintain life, or stimulate growth.
Portulaca oleracea subsp. sativa also known as golden purslane is one of few subspecies of Portulaca oleracea.
Spring greens, or spring vegetables, are the edible young leaves or new plant growth of a large number of plants that are most fit for consumption when their newest growth happens in the spring. Many leaf vegetables become less edible as they age and bitter, or potentially even toxic, compounds start to form. Harvesting of spring vegetables is common across Native American cultures.
oleraceus, holeraceus = relating to vegetables or kitchen garden
L.holeraceus, prop.oleraceus, herb-like, holus, prop.olus (oler-), herbs, vegetables
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link)