Ignorance Made You My Enemy But Knowledge Has Made You My Friend!

What a fool I've been!  I've cursed you while constantly pulling you from my garden and from cracks in my sidewalk.  I've carelessly stepped all over you without even knowing your name.

But now I know.  I know who you are and why you kept coming back in spite of my constant, ignorant abuse.  Your name is Purslane, and now that I know, I promise never to mistreat you again!

As I was pulling some of your fanning foliage from around my corn this morning, something finally clicked.  Didn't a Mexican neighbor once tell me, many years ago, that you  were seen as a garden vegetable in Mexico, not a weed?  I had to find out, so I took a sample of your succulent stems into the house and looked you up on Google.

I was immediately blown away by your impressive online presence.  How is it that so many others know of your benevolent benefits and yet I have seen you as nothing more than a pesky weed?

You are:

• Full of beta-carotene, magnesium and potassium (more so than the spinach I have so carefully tried to protect from you!)
• Infused with alpha linolenic acid (a type of omega-3 fatty acid)
• Well know in Europe as a remedy for arthritis and inflammation 
• Packed with vitamins E and C (more than spinach)
• Found by researchers to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels as well as make the blood less likely to form clots (source)

And on top of this, you taste delicious, as I found out when I sprinkled you liberally into the leftover Greek salad I had for lunch just a few minutes ago!

With your slightly spicy, citrusy taste, it's no wonder you have become a favorite of renowned chefs in recent years.  And to think you so consistently offered yourself to me, with all of your benefits, year after year without any planning, work or attention from me.  I suppose this could have something to do with the fact that each of your individual plants produces over 52,000 seeds which can survive in the soil for up to thirty years.

Whatever your reasons might be, I consider myself lucky that you stubbornly refused to leave my garden in spite of my constant abuse.  And now that I know how wonderful you really are, Purslane, I promise never to take you for granted again!

I've even begun following your recipe board on Pinterest for more ideas on how to take full advantage of your wonderful qualities.  I know this is the beginning of something beautiful.