A couple years later, A wanted to know what the alien plant was really called. So, we researched, and, after a trip to the local nursery, discovered that it was purslane. And we found out that you can eat it. A promptly tried a leaf, then immediately spit it out. I asked him what he was expecting, and he said "not that". It does have a somewhat bitter taste, but we rarely eat it by itself. We cook it with eggs, soups, and sometimes we put it in our stir fry.
Turns out that purslane has really high amounts of omega-3's. So it's also good for you.
And not all purslane is wild. Some purslane is sold at nurseries as a ground cover. Here's a picture of one currently growing in my garden:
Purslane is extremely drought tolerant, so it has been flourishing in my yard. The one above gets chomped on regularly. It seems to have juicier leaves compared to our wild ones:
Although, with more water, the leaves on the wild plants will get pretty juicy, too. But I rarely water the purslane. Unless I'm planning on eating it. Below is an example of purslane that does not get watered (and it also gets walked on):
When it gets damaged, the leaves turn a sort of purple color. And the red stems really stick out. I think it does look a little like an alien plant.
