Portulaca

Portulaca

Portulaca amilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Core eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Portulacaceae
Genus:	Portulaca L.^[1]
Species
about 40-100, see text
Synonyms
Sedopsis (Engl.) Exell & Mendonça^[1]

Portulaca (/ˌpɔrtjuːˈleɪkə/,^[2] purslane) is the type genus of the flowering plant family Portulacaceae, comprising about 40-100 species found in the tropics and warm temperate regions. They are also known as Moss Roses.

Portulaca 'All Aglow'

Portulaca grandiflora 'Bicolor'

Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is widely considered an edible plant, and in some areas an invasive type of weed. Some Portulaca species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Nutmeg (Hadula trifolii).

Purslane can be eaten raw or cooked, and lends itself to stir fry dishes. Some say it has a slight lemon-like taste and mushroom-like texture. It is relatively easy to grow in more northern climates, including the New England area in the United States.

Selected species

Portulaca amilis Speg. – Paraguayan Purslane
Portulaca andicola
Portulaca bicolor – Pigweed
Portulaca biloba Urb. – Cuban Purslane
Portulaca boliviensis
Portulaca caulerpoides Britt. & Wilson ex Britt. – Puerto Rican Purslane
Portulaca cryptopetala
Portulaca elatior
Portulaca elongata
Portulaca eruca
Portulaca fluvialis
Portulaca fragilis
Portulaca gilliesii
Portulaca gracilis
Portulaca grandiflora Hook. – Moss-rose Purslane
Portulaca halimoides L. – Silkcotton Purslane
Portulaca insularis
Portulaca intraterranea
Portulaca kuriensis A.G.Mill. (Yemen)
Portulaca lanuginosa
Portulaca longiusculotuberculata

Portulaca lutea Soland. ex G.Forst. – Yellow Purslane
Portulaca molokiniensis Hobdy – ʻIhi
Portulaca mucronata
Portulaca napiformis
Portulaca oleracea L. – Common Purslane, Pigweed
Portulaca papulosa
Portulaca pedicellata
Portulaca perennis
Portulaca pilosa L. – Shaggy Purslane
Portulaca psammotropha
Portulaca quadrifida L. – Chickenweed Purslane
Portulaca rotundifolia
Portulaca rubricaulis – Redstem Purslane
Portulaca samhaensis A.G.Mill. (Yemen)
Portulaca sclerocarpa A.Gray – ʻIhi Makole
Portulaca sedifolia A.G.Mill. (Yemen)
Portulaca smallii P.Wilson – Small's Purslane
Portulaca suffrutescens Engelm. – Shrubby Purslane
Portulaca teretifolia – Roundleaf Purslane
Portulaca umbraticola Kunth – Wingpod Purslane
Portulaca villosa Cham. – Hairy Purslane, ʻIhi^[3]^[4]

Formerly placed here

Anacampseros arachnoides (Haw.) Sims (as P. arachnoides Haw.)
Anacampseros filamentosa subsp. filamentosa (as P. filamentosa Haw.)
Anacampseros lanceolata subsp. lanceolata (as P. lanceolata Haw.)
Anacampseros rufescens (Haw.) Sweet (as P. rufescens Haw.)
Anacampseros telephiastrum DC. (as P. anacampseros L.)
Sesuvium portulacastrum (L.) L. (as P. portulacastrum L.)
Talinum fruticosum (L.) Juss. (as P. fruticosa L. or P. triangularis Jacq.)
Talinum paniculatum (Jacq.) Gaertn. (as P. paniculata Jacq. or P. patens L.)^[4]

Gallery

Purslane cultivar

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portulaca.

Wikispecies has information related to: Portulaca

↑ 1.0 1.1 "Genus: Portulaca L.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2011-03-04.
↑ "Portulaca". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. September 2005.
↑ "Portulaca". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2011-03-04.
↑ 4.0 4.1 "Species Records of Portulaca". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2011-03-04.

External links

USDA PLANTS Database