# Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)

**Portulaca*; Greek *andrachne**

**Known today as.** *Portulaca oleracea*, a succulent, creeping herb of warm gardens.

Kind: Plant  
Qualities: Cold and moist (Galenic tradition).  
Poisoning: Oxalate poisoning (https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/poisons/oxalate)

## 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.

## 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 and toxicology

- **alpha-linolenic acid**: the richest leafy source of an omega-3
- **oxalic acid**: up to 1.3 per cent fresh
- **noradrenaline**: in 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.

**Dose.** A food; oxalates in quantity.

**Standing.** A vegetable; small trials in Iran for blood sugar and lipids.

## 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.”

## What did the older authorities say?

**Galen.** Counts it among the cooling herbs for heated bodies.

## Sources

- Dioscorides, *De materia medica*.
- Gerard, J. (1597). *The Herball*.
- Folkard, R. (1884). *Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics*, “Purslane.” Project Gutenberg #44638.
- Thiselton-Dyer, T. F. (1889). *The Folk-lore of Plants*. Project Gutenberg #10118.
- 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.

---

*Purslane.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-10-01. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/purslane

Historical description, not medical advice.