More Omega-3 Than Salmon Per Leaf. Why Is the World's Most Nutritious Plant Classified as a Weed?

What is Purslane?

Historical Context

Ancient Origins

In 1050 BC, someone in northern Greece stored Purslane seeds in a clay vessel. When archaeologists opened it 3,000 years later, they found thousands of tiny black seeds—the same plant still growing between the stones outside.

• 7th century BC: Seeds appear in the Samian Heraion, one of the most important sanctuaries in ancient Greece
• 4th century BC: Theophrastus writes cultivation instructions, telling farmers to sow it in April alongside essential crops
• Roman Empire: Cultivated across three continents as a staple food
• 1288 AD: Bonvesan Deariva's list of everything Milan consumed includes Purslane—not as a curiosity, but as a staple

Americas: The Double Discovery

European settlers documented Purslane in Massachusetts in 1672. But archaeologists later discovered it had already been here for 2,500 years:

• Seeds found in Ontario date to 1350 AD
• Seeds found in Kentucky date to 800 BC
• Native Americans cultivated it alongside sunflowers, squash, and chenopods in the eastern agricultural complex

Two populations separated by an ocean both decided this plant was essential. What did they know that we've forgotten?

Scientific Discoveries & Nutritional Power

The Cretan Paradox

In 1960, physiologist Ancel Keys launched the Seven Countries Study, tracking 12,763 men across seven countries for 50 years. The results broke every assumption:

The farmers of Crete consumed some of the highest fat diets in the world—more than 35% of calories from fat. According to every nutritional theory of the time, they should have been dying from heart attacks. Instead, they had the lowest cardiovascular mortality rate Keys had ever measured. Lower than Japan. Lower than Finland. Lower than anywhere.

For 20 years, scientists credited olive oil. Then in the 1980s, they analyzed frozen blood samples from the original study. The Cretans had three times the omega-3 levels of the Dutch—but they weren't eating three times more fish. They were eating Purslane every single day: in salads, in stews, sautéed with olive oil, and fed to their chickens and goats.

The Impossible Nutritional Profile

Dr. Artemis Simopoulos analyzed Purslane in 1992. The numbers seemed impossible:

• Omega-3 Fatty Acids: 300-400mg per 100g of fresh leaves—5-7 times more than spinach, 15 times more than iceberg lettuce. The richest vegetable source of omega-3 ever measured
• EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid): Land plants don't make EPA—that's a marine omega-3 from fish and algae. Purslane makes EPA. When Simopoulos published this, other scientists questioned if samples were contaminated. They weren't.
• Vitamin E: 7 times more than spinach
• Beta-carotene: 6 times more than carrots
• Also contains: Melatonin, glutathione, potassium, magnesium, and calcium in concentrations that make it one of the most nutrient-dense plants ever analyzed

The Lyon Diet Heart Study

605 patients recovering from heart attacks were split into two groups. Half got the standard low-fat cardiac diet. Half got a Mediterranean diet rich in Purslane, walnuts, and omega-3 fatty acids.

After 5 years: The Purslane group had 70% fewer deaths. Not 70% fewer heart attacks—70% fewer deaths from all causes. The study was stopped early because keeping the control group on the standard diet became unethical.

Yale's 2022 Discovery: The Biological Impossibility

Dr. Erica Edwards and her team at Yale published findings in Science Advances that rewrote what we thought possible in photosynthesis.

Most plants use C3 photosynthesis (works with plenty of water). Corn and sugarcane evolved C4 photosynthesis (handles high temperatures). Desert plants like cacti use CAM photosynthesis (opens pores at night to collect CO₂, seals them during day to prevent water loss—but grows incredibly slowly).

Scientists knew Purslane could do both C4 and CAM. They assumed it used them separately. When Yale mapped gene expression, they discovered both systems operating in the same cells at the same time:

• C4 activity during the day for fast growth
• CAM activity at night for drought survival
• The products of CAM reactions feed directly into the C4 pathway

"This is a very rare combination of traits and has created a kind of super plant," Edwards said. No other species on Earth does this.

The result: Purslane survives on 1/5th the water corn needs, grows in soil so salty most crops would die in days, and produces 200,000 seeds per plant that remain viable for up to 40 years.

How to Identify, Grow & Use Purslane

Identification

Purslane has distinct features that make it easy to identify:

• Stems: Thick, red, smooth (never hairy), and succulent
• Leaves: Paddle-shaped, succulent, growing flat along the ground
• Interior: When you break a stem, it's juicy and almost translucent inside
• Flowers: Tiny and yellow, usually tucked between the leaves
• Growth pattern: Spreads horizontally along the ground

Growing Conditions

Purslane is nearly indestructible:

• Thrives in extreme drought
• Grows in soil so salty most crops die
• Completes its life cycle on just 6 inches of annual rainfall (corn needs 20-30 inches)
• Accelerates photosynthesis above 95°F (when soybeans shut down)
• Every stem fragment that touches ground roots into a new plant
• One plant produces 200,000 seeds that stay viable for 40 years

Harvesting

• Best time: First 6 weeks when leaves are tender
• Method: Cut stems above ground level (they'll regrow)
• Continuous harvest: Plant keeps producing all summer
• Seed saving: Let a few plants go to seed in late summer—collect hundreds of thousands for next year

Culinary Uses

Raw: Add to salads for a lemony, slightly salty crunch with crisp texture

Cooked: Sauté like spinach, add to soups and stews, or stir-fry

Preserved: Pickle it, dry it for winter use

Smoothies: Blend fresh leaves for omega-3 boost

Traditional Names & Global Use

• India: Kulfa (still widely eaten)
• Greece: Glistrida
• Mexico: Verdolagas (sautéed with garlic and chile)
• China: Ma chi xian (continuously cultivated for thousands of years)
• Middle East: Appears in mezze spreads and summer salads across Turkey, Iran, and the region

Half the world never forgot Purslane. The other half was taught to poison it.

Why is Purslane Called a "Weed"?

The global herbicide market hit $40 billion in 2024. Bayer, Syngenta, and Corteva sell products specifically formulated to kill Purslane in lawns, gardens, and agricultural fields. Homeowners associations prohibit it. Agricultural extension offices publish eradication guides.

Why the war on Purslane?

• You cannot patent Purslane
• You cannot genetically modify it to make sterile seeds
• You cannot create hybrid varieties farmers must buy new every year
• It reproduces freely and cannot be controlled

Every other omega-3 source is a controlled market: Wild fish populations are collapsing. Farmed salmon requires massive infrastructure. Flax seed oil goes rancid. Fish oil supplements cost $20 a bottle.

Purslane grows for free in every climate zone where humans live. It produces more omega-3 per acre than any cultivated crop, and it asks for nothing but sunlight and occasional rain.