Purslane Weed

In Context

  • A common weed  named Portulaca oleracea, also commonly known as purslane, offers important clues about creating drought-tolerant crops in a world beset by climate change.

About

  • Purslane has the evolutionary adaptations that help it to be both highly productive and drought tolerant, an unlikely combination for a plant.
  • Plants have independently evolved various mechanisms to improve photosynthesis, the process by which green plants use sunlight to synthesise nutrients from carbon dioxide and water. 
  • Portulaca oleracea has been used as a folk medicine in many countries, acting as a febrifuge, antiseptic, and vermifuge.

Source: DTE