Origin: Europe, Australia, India and Middle East.

This low-lying spreading plant is rarely seen in the wild in Singapore these days. Some common names such as pigweed and little hogweed probably indicate its link as staple food for the pigs. The whole plant is edible (probably exclude the roots) either fresh as salad or cooked with other ingredients. The use of this plant as a vegetable, spice and medicinal plant has been known since ancient times. With the long history of usage, it is not surprising to find plenty of reports on the composition and potential medicinal values of this plant. It is considered by some as a wonder plant. The herbaceous succulent plant can be easily confused with the look-alike ornamental purslanes sold in nurseries which have much larger flowers.