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Purslane is an annual plant that can be treated as a pot herb. More usually, though, it is treated as an annoying weed.
The plant grows from 6 to 20 inches high (15 to 50 cm), depending on the variety. The smaller one grows very close to the ground, spreading out along it. The plant has pinkish stems and thick, fleshy leaves that give off a sticky juice when cooked, like Okra does. The leaves have a bit of a sour smell to them.
In North America now, people don't know what it is, even though they see it growing as a weed in cracks in sidewalks and pavements or in their gardens. Knowledge of it as a food has been lost.
Cooking Tips
Purslane can be eaten raw, or cooked as a vegetable. The taller one, Montia perfoliata (aka Garden or Winter Purslane), is usually always cooked as a pot herb.
Trim roots, wash and chop.
Storage
Best stored in the fridge with the stems in water, though it won't store for more than a day before wilting.
History
Purslane is native to China. It was grown for food in India and the Middle East, reaching Europe in the Middle Ages. It was cultivated in Europe for hundreds of years. It was brought to the Americas by the British and Spanish colonists to grow as food. Martha Washington, in her Booke of Cookery (1749), had a recipe for "Pickled Pursland". It fell out of favour towards the end of the 1800s.
Literature & Lore
"To pickle Purslain Stalks: - -Wash your stalks, and cut them in pieces six inches long; boil them in water and salt a dozen walms*; take them up, drain them, and when they cool, make a pickle of stale beer, white-wine vinegar, and salt, put them in, and cover them close." -- William Carew Hazlitt (1834 to 1913). Old Cookery Books and Ancient Cuisine. London: The Book-Lover's Library. 1902.
* [ed. a walm being a single surge of boiling water, ergo "salt for a few seconds"]
Language Notes
The Latin scientific name derives from the Latin word "portulaca", meaning Little Door, on account of how it opens up as it grows.
Also called:  Portulacea (Scientific Name) Purslane (French) Portulak (German) Verdolaga (Spanish)
See Also
Walms
Other entries for Pot Herbs
Afang Leaves, Garlic Cress, Garlic Mustard, Purslane, Stinging Nettles, Utazi, Uziza Leaves
Other entries for Herbs
Angelica, Angostura Bark, Basil, Bay Leaf, Borage, Chamomile, Chervil, Chives, Comfrey, Coriander, Cress, Curry Leaves, Dill, Dried Herbs, Epazote, Fennel, Fenugreek, Filé, Folium Indicum, Greens, Herbed Vinegars, Hops, Hyssop, Lavender, Loroco, Lovage, Marjoram, Mexican Tarragon, Mint, Oregano, Parsley, Pennywort, Potherbs, Rosemary, Rue, Sage, Salad Burnet, Sarsaparilla, Sassafrass, Savoury, Screw Pine Leaves, Shiso Leaves, Silphium, Sorrel, Tarragon, Thyme, Trefoil, Valerian, Wild Garlic, Winter Purslane, Yarrow, Yomogi
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