PURSLANE

purslane

(noun) a plant of the family Portulacaceae having fleshy succulent obovate leaves often grown as a potherb or salad herb; a weed in some areas

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

purslane (usually uncountable, plural purslanes)

A succulent plant of the Portulacaceae family.

the widely-grown edible plant common purslane or summer purslane (Portulaca oleracea)

moss-rose purslane, moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora)

winter purslane, miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)

pink purslane (Claytonia sibirica)

sea purslane (Halimione portulacoides)

Synonyms

• (a succulent of the family Portulacaceae)

• (Portulaca oleracea): common purslane, garden purslane, little hogweed, pigweed, pusley, pussley, verdolaga

Anagrams

• supernal

Source: Wiktionary

Purs"lane, n. Etym: [OF. porcelaine, pourcelaine (cf. It. porcellana), corrupted fr. L. porcilaca for portulaca.] (Bot.)

Definition: An annual plant (Portulaca oleracea), with fleshy, succulent, obovate leaves, sometimes used as a pot herb and for salads, garnishing, and pickling. Flowering purslane, or Great flowered purslane, the Portulaca grandiflora. See Portulaca.

– Purslane tree, a South African shrub (Portulacaria Afra) with many small opposite fleshy obovate leaves.

– Sea purslane, a seashore plant (Arenaria peploides) with crowded opposite fleshy leaves.

– Water purslane, an aquatic plant (Ludwiqia palustris) but slightly resembling purslane.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition