Purslane is a common "weed" in much of the world. It's thick, fleshy stems and leaves are eaten in salads, stir fried and cooked like spinach. Greeks use the slightly sour/salty leaves and stems with feta cheese, tomato, onion, garlic, oregano, and olive oil, add it in salads, boil it or add to casseroled chicken. In Turkey, besides being used in salads and in baked pastries, it is cooked as a vegetable similar to spinach. Purslane contains more omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy vegetable plant. It also contains vitamins A, C, and E, as well as the minerals magnesium, calcium, potassium, and iron. The pigments that give the plant it's reddish cast are potent antioxidants and have been found to have antimutagenic properties in laboratory studies. Used in traditional Chinese medicine, its active constituents include: noradrenaline, calcium salts, dopamine, malic acid, citric acid, glutamic acid, asparagic acid, nicotinic acid, alanine, glucose, fructose, and sucrose. Its leaves are used to treat insect and snake bites, boils, sores, bee stings, bacillary dysentery, diarrhea, hemorrhoids, postpartum bleeding, and intestinal bleeding. It tolerates a wide variety of soils, preferring a hot and sunny exposure. Poor soil and clay are no problem for this spreading ground cover. Seeds are best direct sown where you want them - sow anytime of year and they will sprout when the soil has warmed up in early summer. Seed packets contain several hundred seeds. Packet: $3.50