A lot of folks, including me, get Purslane and Portulaca confused. I found this great video on YouTube:

Purslane and portulaca are related but very different
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

The take-away is that purslane blooms all summer whereas portulaca only lasts a few weeks.

Purslane's flowers are usually single and the leaves are thick, succulent, paddle-shaped and flat. It is a tender perennial and will last all summer long.

Portulaca has larger, double flowers and needle-shaped leaves, but it is an annual and lasts only a few weeks.

I didn't know all that! But now I know which one to buy. :)

Carol

Great info!

Carol which one they use in salads?

Golly, I don't know. But I bet someone in the Purslane and Portulaca Forum might know: http://garden.org/forums/view/...

Carol

mocropot said:Carol which one they use in salads?

Purslane

Thank you Tabby!

Purslane is delicious, sort of tart and juicy. It was a weed in my garden when we lived in Utah. And in my salads.

If I recall correctly it actually contains small amounts of Omega3 so it's very good for you.

I was thrilled to recently discover what must be our native Portulaca (P. pilosa) Kiss Me Quick (Portulaca pilosa) growing abundantly in the median strips on Pearl Street near my house. There is the remnants of a "Do Not Disturb" sign informing us that the medians were once, probably decades ago, a native plant project site. The only plants I've seen that survived is one (1) very lonely native Gaura (now botanically classified as Oenothera simulans (previously Gaura angustifolia) and a fairly extensive scattering of P. pilosa.

Despite the ancient warning sign, I did help myself to a smidgen of P. pilosa which has grown robust in a pot with a little additional TLC, and I felt compelled to rescue the native Gaura since it was mowed down about the time it bloomed a few months ago.

If anyone wants the native Portulaca, come visit and I will point you in the right direction!

There is also an abandoned field near my house, adjacent to the Winn-Dixie, with quite a few native Passionvines (P. incarnata Maypop (Passiflora incarnata) ), Tickseed Coreopsis and a fern that is growing very happily in FULL SUN!!! I keep forgetting to take my camera along to get a photo of that miracle, but will do so soon and post the fern for I.D.


Jeremy

Jeremy...when I see the native portulaca pop up in the yard I try and dig it to put out of harms way as far as the mower goes...not sure if I planted it in the pot (pictured in the link) or the pot was near where it was "just growing". I put both it and wild purslane in a hanging basket by the pump house. Crazy squirrels love jumping into the pot and munching. GRRRRR

Ginger, I have the same problem with the chipmunks and cultivated Purslane. I had a small pot on my porch and they've eaten it to stubs. I agree with you...GRRRRR!

I found some of that cute Portulaca (pilosa) with the tiny hot pink flowers recently also. It was in a crack in the parking lot across the street. It still seems alive after a couple weeks. What a cute little plant!!