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49. PURSLEY 



Portulaca oleracea 



The thick fleshy stems of the pursley plant and the leaves 

 when young and tender may be cooked as a substitute for 

 spinach, or they may be eaten raw in a salad. This is a common 

 weed of the Caribbean region, where it appears in waste ground 

 and often in gardens and cultivated fields; it is a well known 

 weed also in most parts of the United States. The plants trail 

 along the ground and intertwine to form mats; the flowers are 

 tiny and yellow. Pursley is also called pusley, (colloquial) 

 purslane and verdolaga. 



