Purslane Picking

I said in a previous post that I was keen to pick some edible weeds in Melbourne: just before, after a class I chanced upon a large growth of purslane on campus! I have never seen it at the Uni before, I think because the campus is tended by a heap of gardeners who pull it out. Purslane is a middle eastern plant with succulent leaves and often red stems that grows a lot around Melbourne (and in many places across the world), and while it is largely considered a weed here, in many parts of the world it is a traditional food resource (kind of like spinach). I have this book that I have used walking around Brunswick, where I've harvested mallow, nasturtiums, dandelion leaves and purslane too. Here's a sprig of some of the purslane I picked today. Tomorrow I will fry it all up as part of saturday breakfast with garlic, tomato and olive oil.

Maybe this doesn't seem much like a 'present' to anyone else or even that exciting, but I really like to gather things! And I love to find things hidden in places that other people overlook, I feel empowered and thrilled when I discover something new about the everyday places I've overlooked previously. It makes me feel like I understand the city I live in a little more. It's one of the reasons that I find this subculture so interesting in Melbourne, and for that matter, gold hunting in Victoria in the nineteenth century, which is still a thing. If you know of any other small 'gathering' subcultures in Melbourne (other than shopping!), please let me know about them!