Chewing Up the Scenery: Purslane Punctuates New York City's Edible Landscape

What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.

Yeah, maybe. But Ralph Waldo Emerson's well considered aperçu aside, everybody who passed by shot me an odd look as I set the table around my favorite sidewalk weed for lunch.

I'm no botanist. I'm not even an avid picnicker. But if there's a weed I know that's worth rising to the  occasion for it's Portulaca oleracea. Better known as common purslane, this is one such virtuous weed which—despite some guttersnipe tendencies—is fast assuming its place in the sun.

And there it was, a weed after my own heart, eking through a crack in a masonry embankment (out of a dog's most ambitious reach) like a burst of irreverent laughter. I smiled.

Many a disgruntled gardener In the past has cussed purslane as the bane of their vegetable plots. Pusley is right up there with other derisively named plants, like pigweed and hogweed, that were traditionally recommended as (you guessed it) pig fodder. But today produce purveyors are stocking purslane under such respectful labels as verdolaga and sunplant.

Indeed, purslane is fast becoming a boon to many an edible landscape. And present-day purslane-spotting urbanites have observed (and ignored) the mats of oval-leaved shoots in the damnedest places. Purslane is a succulent that resembles a more delicate variety of jade plant. But unlike the thick, pachydermic stalks of the latter, the bloodshot tendrils of purslane’s stems may often be found sprouting through a fissure in a city park retaining wall. Or basking thirty feet above Broadway along the guard rail of an elevated Manhattan subway platform. Or, where I'd found my latest prize, colonizing a low-trafficked Harlem townhouse stoop—an inviting, and absolutely free, roadside feast.

Scientific study has played a large role in renewing esteem for purslane. The entirely edible plant—stems, leaves, seeds and flowers—contains a high content of Omega-3 fatty acids, essential to the human diet, that is considered extraordinary for a source other than fish or seaweed. It's also said to be high in vitamins A, C and E. This salubrious aspect has made purslane something of a darling on the internet with anecdotes, character studies and recipes abounding. Nor has it hurt that it is tasty (subtly lemony and crunchy), inexpensive and conducive to countless preparations, all features that are lending this virtuous weed a special appeal at farmer’s markets.

But gluttons for nourishment needn’t depend on a local greengrocer to snatch a clump of this winning produce. Purslane is likely only steps away.

Of course, no matter how hungry you are, confidence in distinguishing purslane on your own from a toxic weed like spurge is worth any amount of wariness. However purslane is easy to learn to recognize, and those looking to gain confidence can find ample illustrated descriptions online or, here in New York City, can take an edifying walking tour from an expert like Wild Man Steve Brill (http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/).

In 1854 Henry David Thoreau wrote fairly rapturously in Waldon of dining “simply off a dish of purslane…which I gathered in my cornfield, boiled and salted.” Well, maybe Mr. T's cornfield offered only slim pickings. But the rest of us can luxuriate in simply nibbling purslane raw while contemplating what other dish to add it to, like an omelet, a salad, or sandwich. Indeed, my purslane gazpacho won over a blanket of friends at a recent outdoor Harlem jazz concert. Yes!

So skip the fridge for those coveted midnight snacks. Hit the streets instead.