AN interlude: some garden weeds 



purslane or "pussley." An eighteenth century 

 writer speaks of it as being "little inferior to the 

 asparagus." We can cheerfully consign it to the 

 boiling cauldron. In the garden it is most perni- 

 cious, spreading rapidly and re-rooting at every 

 joint left carelessly in the shade or in damp earth. 

 Its small yellow flowers open in the hot sunshine 

 for only a few hours, but spread their seeds gen- 

 erously. These are of so great vitality, that if 

 deeply buried and years after accidentally brought 

 near the surface, they will spring to life again. Its 

 smaller leaves are used for salad and for garnishing. 

 Purslane and its 

 cousin, the portu- 

 laca, have many 

 habits in com- 

 mon. 



Lape Lod peo- common Purslane or Portulaca 



pie use golden or Oleracea* 



marsh dock and 



seashore plantain or "Goose Tongue," while in- 

 land folks use curled dock for a pot herb and oc- 

 casionally the common plantain. The docks are 

 cousins to the sorrel or sour grass. The family 

 resemblance between the two is strong. There is a 

 little garden weed called wood-sorrel, with leaves 

 and yellow blossoms closely resembling the culti- 

 vated oxalis and belonging to the same family. 

 As children, we have all sampled peppergrass and 



♦ From Bailey's Cyclopedia of Horticulture. By permission of 

 the Macmillan Co. 



i6 207 



