Many of our readers have shared their views about what constitutes a “specialty” fresh produce item. When those comments are compared, they condense down to about a paragraph’s worth of similar responses.

Fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs that are considered specialty are so because they are newly introduced to consumers via the foodservice industry, retailers and media venues. That doesn’t mean they’re newly developed products. In fact, many produce items that are considered specialty are actually extremely old. Heirloom tomatoes from seed developed 100 years ago are one good example.

Other fresh produce items are considered specialty because they are sparse, or hard to come by, either because they are produced in foreign countries and so are cost prohibitive, or because the item’s growing season is very short. Some products are simply more expensive to grow, they require special care or are very sensitive to climate changes. This, with supply and demand dictating what goes on in the produce market, discourages growers from producing more unusual items.

If all of the above helps us to define “specialty” produce, we may wonder how many more specialty items could possibly be forthcoming to whet the appetites of top chefs and “foodie” consumers.

But don’t worry. All one has to do is walk through a wooded area just about anywhere in North America, or visit some open produce markets in foreign countries and you’ll soon see that there is more of what Americans would consider “specialty” produce than will likely ever make it to our markets. We are a very, very long way from scratching the bottom of the barrel of new, interesting, delicious and highly nutritious specialty produce items.

Let’s start with what’s outside our own back doors. And this is the perfect opportunity to mention Purslane, which is also known as Verdolaga, Pigweed, Little Hogweed, Pursley and Moss Rose.

It seems that every spring when I plant my kitchen herb garden, whatever plants I purchase include a free supply of the crunchy green. The first time it popped up right alongside my parsley, basil and chives, I didn’t know what it was, and initially had to be told that some people enjoy eating it. I quickly did some research, collected the very few recipes available on the Internet, and today Purslane is a big part of my diet. It has a “toothsome” texture and a light lemony flavor. I have also learned that some top chefs do occasionally offer it on their menus, but I have never seen it at a grocery store or a green market. I have found a seed resource, however, just in case my “freebies” run out.

And Purslane might well be inducted into the “superfood” hall of fame once people start learning more about it. According to Mother Earth News, who refers to it as “power-packed,” most growers just try to find ways to eradicate it. But Mother Earth says the best way to accomplish this is to eat it. Purslane tops the list of plants high in vitamin E and an essential omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid. It provides six times more vitamin E than spinach and seven times more beta carotene than carrots. It’s also rich in vitamin C, magnesium, riboflavin, potassium and phosphorus.

I researched unusual fruits, vegetables and herbs by their categories. Cab’s Wild Food Page, http://cabd0.tripod.com/cabsmushroompage/id4.html, lists a few wild, and some wildly unfamiliar fruits, including Fragaria vesca, or wild strawberry. Foragers in some Mediterranean countries pick similar wild berries, and the grocery stores and produce markets get a hefty premium for them — but they are rarely seen at U.S. markets. It also lists Prunus avium, or wild cherry, as well as wild blackberries, dewberries and numerous others.

On The Art of Manliness website, http://www.artofmanliness.com/2010/10/06/surviving-in-the-wild-19-common-edible-plants/, an article titled Surviving in the Wild: 19 Common Edible Plants, offers visitors just that. After some advice on plants to avoid if you are lost in the wild and dependent on wild plants to survive, right there is Amaranth, a wild variety of asparagus, burdock, clovers and even cattail. We should be wondering when any of these may start showing up on restaurant menus, on a Food Network television show, in a leading food magazine and ultimately on our produce department shelves.

The same applies to herbs. A visit to Edible Wild Food, www.ediblewildfood.com, will introduce those who may not have known to Yellow Toadflax, also known as Butter and Eggs. It seems this magical herb has numerous wondrous qualities. Parts of it can be cooked and eaten (sparingly, it is recommended), other parts, when cooked in milk make an excellent fly killer.

But let’s travel around the world a little. The Southern Mediterranean is a prime example of what awaits us when exporters and importers get their heads together, work toward developing import protocols and strongly market some of these items.

Heads of purple cauliflower the size of large watermelons adorn the markets and retail produce departments in Southern Italy. Sicily is famous for its long, snake-like and other specialty zucchini, baby multi-colored eggplants, colored Bell peppers nearly the size of footballs and specialty peppers with their own unique sweetness and crunch.

And that’s just one region of the world. Imagine all the countries of the world and what still awaits us in flavor, texture, nutrition and visual pleasure.

I’m not running right out to hunt down Yellow Toadflax any time soon, but it’s nice to know that if I ever run into it that I now know, and will likely try, to make some fly killer. I’ll also be highly tempted to taste the product.

In the meantime, would some specialty house please get Purslane commercially produced, packaged and on grocery stores’ shelves year round? I’d be mighty grateful.