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PORTULACACEAE

(Purslane family)

580 species in 19 genera are of cosmopolitan distribution and especially found in America.

[Summary yet to be added]

Lewisia rediviva Pursh

Bitter Root

The root of this xerophytic plant is intensely bitter when raw. The root when cooked was an important food of western North American Indians (Medsger 1939).

Portulaca oleracea

Purslane

Purslane is said to allay the cutaneous effects of the mature pine processionary caterpillar (Thaumatopoeida) (Rostenburg and Solomon 1968).

Talinum polyandrum

The sap is acrid (Pammel 1911).

References

• Medsger OP (1939) Edible Wild Plants. New York: The Macmillan Company [WorldCat]
• Pammel, L.H. (1911) A Manual of Poisonous Plants. Torch Press. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Reprinted Univ. Microfilms Inc. Ann Arbor, Mich. 1965. pp. 476-7.
• Rostenberg, A. and Solomon, L.M. (1968) Jean Henri Fabre and the patch test. Archs Derm. 98: 188.

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