Portulaca oleracea L.
بقلة، رجلة, بربري، نايجال، حمضيت, خليلجو، فرفيرو
For people
- Eaten by people
- Edible
- Toxic to people
- Not toxic
For livestock
- Grazed by livestock
- Limited fodder
- Toxic to livestock
- Toxic
Edibility and safety notes
The young leaves and stems are widely eaten as a salad or cooked vegetable, and the seeds can be ground into meal. The plant is rich in oxalates, so eat moderate amounts and prefer it cooked; people prone to kidney stones should avoid large quantities. Livestock eat it, but it can accumulate oxalates and nitrates: sheep, goats and calves have been poisoned after eating large amounts, especially hungry animals or when cut weeds are dumped in pens. Gather only from places not sprayed with pesticides or watered with sewage.
This guide is a hobby project, not expert advice. Never eat a wild plant, or feed it to animals, on the strength of this page alone. Read the disclaimer
Description
A fast-growing herbaceous annual with succulent leaves and stems. Multiple smooth reddish stems from a single taproot form a prostrate mat up to 1 m in diameter. Leaves are oval to spoon-shaped, fleshy. Small yellow flowers with five petals open on hot sunny days.
Habitat
Flower beds, cultivated fields, roadsides, and disturbed or waste places. Grows in full sun in almost any soil from muck to heavy clay. Thrives in warm weather from sea level to 1700 m in tropics.
Distribution
Likely native to North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. Now naturalized worldwide in tropical and temperate regions, one of the most widely distributed plants on earth.
Pastoral value
Grazed by livestock. It can accumulate oxalates and nitrates, and sheep, goats and calves have been poisoned after eating large quantities, so it should not be fed in bulk.
Other uses
Eaten as a salad plant and cooked vegetable in many countries; the leaves and stems are mucilaginous and slightly sour, and the seeds can be ground into meal. Traditionally used for inflammations, urinary complaints, heartburn, mouth inflammation, as a diuretic and mild laxative, and the seeds against intestinal worms. The plant is high in oxalates.
Sources
- الدليل الحقلي المصور للنباتات البرية في سلطنة عُمان (BOOK.pdf p.170)
- Plants For A Future — Portulaca oleracea — pfaf.org
- Flora of Qatar — Portulaca oleracea — floraofqatar.com
- IVIS — Guide to Poisonous House and Garden Plants: Portulaca species — ivis.org
- Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira 2018 — Nitrate and nitrite poisoning in sheep and goats caused by ingestion of Portulaca oleracea — scielo.br
- Useful Tropical Plants - Portulaca oleracea — tropical.theferns.info
- Wikipedia - Portulaca oleracea — en.wikipedia.org
- ASPCA - Purslane (toxic to dogs, cats, horses; soluble calcium oxalates) — aspca.org
- Feedipedia search - Portulaca oleracea (pig fodder references) — feedipedia.org