portulaca oleracea

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

Portulaca oleracea
    n 1: weedy trailing mat-forming herb with bright yellow flowers
         cultivated for its edible mildly acid leaves eaten raw or
         cooked especially in Indian and Greek and Middle Eastern
         cuisine; cosmopolitan [syn: {common purslane}, {pussley},
         {pussly}, {verdolagas}, {Portulaca oleracea}]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Portulaca \Por`tu*la"ca\, n. [L., purslane.] (Bot.)
   A genus of polypetalous plants; also, any plant of the genus.
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: {Portulaca oleracea} is the common purslane. {Portulaca
         grandiflora} is a South American herb, widely
         cultivated for its showy crimson, scarlet, yellow, or
         white, ephemeral blossoms.
         [1913 Webster]

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Purslane \Purs"lane\, n. [OF. porcelaine, pourcelaine (cf. It.
   porcellana), corrupted fr. L. porcilaca for portulaca.]
   (Bot.)
   An annual plant ({Portulaca oleracea}), with fleshy,
   succulent, obovate leaves, sometimes used as a pot herb and
   for salads, garnishing, and pickling.
   [1913 Webster]

   {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.
      [1913 Webster]