Purslane for painful urination and cloudy cornea
Purslane is a strangely neglected herb, even though it has the highest levels of Omega-3 fatty acids found in any edible green plant in the world (so far known), and like bananas has a much higher level of potassium than sodium (around 32 times as much potassium as sodium).
The Green Purslane, Portulaca oleracea, and its variety the Golden Purslane, P. oleracea sativa (or P. oleracea aurea) are both used for the same purposes. Green Purslane has quite a number of other names, including Common Purslane, Summer Purslane, Pigweed, and according to Wikipedia, Verdolaga, Little Hogweed and Pusley.
Green Purslane, Golden Purslane and Winter Purslane are all members of the family Portulacaceae.
Purslane is a half hardy annual or tender perennial reaching a height and spread of about 10 inches (25cm). It does not like clay because it prefers well-drained soil, but is otherwise happy anywhere not in full shade, so long as the soil is kept moist. If you live in an area where frost does not occur, you may wish to keep it restricted, as it can become invasive otherwise.
Purslane leaves can be included in the salad bowl, and also cooked and used as a substitute for okra. As well as high levels of Omega-3, it also contains useful amounts of potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin A (15000mg per 100g), Riboflavin (B1), Thiamin (B2), Niacin and vitamin C.
Despite all this, purslane should not be used medicinally, or in large amounts, by pregnant women or anyone suffering from digestive problems.
Though not often mentioned in herbals, purslane does have a number of medicinal uses. The juice extracted from fresh leaves can be used to treat coughs and painful urination (whether caused by kidney stones, cystitis or bladder cancer), and also externally to treat skin diseases and insect stings. A poultice made from fresh or dried leaves mixed with very hot water and wrapped in a muslin or other cloth can be used for the same purposes.
A standard infusion of leaves is made from 1oz (30g) of dried or 3 handfuls of fresh leaves to 570ml (2.5 US cups, 1 UK pint) of boiling water and allowed to stand for 15 minutes to 4 hours before straining. This is used to treat stomach aches and headaches.
An infusion of seeds (using 1 oz to 570ml boiling water) can be used internally to treat dyspepsia and corneal opacity – and as one of the causes of cloudy cornea is a vitamin A deficiency, adding purslane to the salad bowl on a regular basis will help to prevent it occurring in the first place.
As with all herbs grown for medicinal use, purslane should be grown organically to ensure that the active constituents are not corrupted or eliminated by the presence of adulteration by chemicals. To find out more about growing organic Summer purslane visit the Gardenzone.
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