Purslane
Portulaca; Greek andrachne
- Known today as
- Portulaca oleracea, a succulent, creeping herb of warm gardens.
- Kind
- Plant, in 1 older authority
- Constituents
- alpha-linolenic acid, oxalic acid, noradrenaline, and 1 more
- Poisoning
- Oxalate poisoning
- Earliest authority here
- Galen (AD 129–c. 216)
- Qualities
- Cold and moist (Galenic tradition). What the degrees mean
- In other databases
- Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search
Revised October 1, 2026: Lore added from texts read in full. Version 1, first published September 30, 2026.
Purslane: what was it used for?
The great cooling herb of the Galenic kitchen: for heat of the stomach and liver, fevers, thirst, and burning urine; eaten raw in salads.
Purslane: what does modern science say?
An unusually rich leafy source of the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid; it is a food, not a medicine.
Pharmacognosy & Toxicology
- Constituents
- alpha-linolenic acid ChEMBLthe richest leafy source of an omega-3
- oxalic acid ChEMBLup to 1.3 per cent fresh
- noradrenaline ChEMBLin the leaf, at measurable levels
- betalains
- Mechanism
- A cooling salad in the Galenic sense because it is nine parts water with potassium and a sour of oxalates; its real distinction is the omega-3 content. The oxalate forbids it in quantity to stone-formers.
- Toxic dose
- A food; oxalates in quantity.
- Syndrome
- Oxalate poisoning
- Standing
- A vegetable; small trials in Iran for blood sugar and lipids.
- Simopoulos, A. P., et al. (1992). “Common purslane: a source of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants.” Journal of the American College of Nutrition 11. Verified against its record · doi:10.1080/07315724.1992.10718240
Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.
Purslane: what lore surrounds it?
Folkard: “Purslane (Portulaca), strewn about a bed, used in olden times to be considered a sure protection against evil spirits.” Astrologers gave it to the Moon.
Thiselton-Dyer places purslane among the love plants: “The purslane, crocus, and periwinkle were thought to inspire love.” The small purslane also keeps time, being with the garden lettuce “included in the flower-clock.”
Purslane: what did the older authorities say?
- Galen
- Counts it among the cooling herbs for heated bodies.
Sources
- Dioscorides, De materia medica. Read in part · the text read
- Gerard, J. (1597). The Herball. Verified against its record · doi:10.5962/bhl.title.99400
- Folkard, R. (1884). Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics, “Purslane.” Project Gutenberg #44638. Primary text
- Thiselton-Dyer, T. F. (1889). The Folk-lore of Plants. Project Gutenberg #10118. Read in part · the text read
Verification
- Checked
- October 1, 2026
- Passes
- Every sentence read against its sources, in the pass over the remaining 343 entries
- The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
- Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database
- Each quotation from the older authorities checked word for word against the text, read in full
- Sources
- 5 cited: 2 read in part, 2 verified against its record, 1 primary text.
- Corrections
- None were needed.
What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.
Cite This Entry
Version 1 · first published September 30, 2026 · last revised October 1, 2026
- Chicago
“Purslane.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified October 1, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/purslane.
- MLA
“Purslane.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 1 Oct. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/purslane. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
- APA
Purslane. (2026, October 1). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/purslane
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See Also
Poisoned alike: oxalate poisoning
Sorrel, syrup of · Chaga · Wood sorrel · the syndrome, with all of them →
Sharing oxalic acid, betalains
Also in Galen
Terra sigillata in Galen · Peony in Galen · Theriac in Galen · Hiera picra in Galen · everything Galen names →
Drawing on the same sources: Dioscorides, Gerard, Folkard, Thiselton-Dyer
Rocket · Pomegranate · Scammony · Rosemary · Meadowsweet · Sage · Radish · Oxymel, and oxymel of squill · the bibliography →
Of the same qualities: cold and moist
Quicksilver · Houseleek · Saffron milk cap · Caesar’s mushroom · Truffle · Violet, lettuce, sow-thistle · what the degrees mean →
Nearby in the alphabet
Puffball (White balls that ripen into a cloud of brown spores) · Quince (Cydonia oblonga) · The prologue of John · The precious stones (emerald, jacinth, garnet, and topaz, as they were used in medicine) · Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris (syn)
Historical description, not medical advice.