Portulaca amilis
Portulaca biloba
Paraguayan purslane
Cuban purslane
prostrate to suberect;
trichomes dense at nodes and in inflorescence;
branches 5–25 cm.
prostrate to suberect, somewhat woody toward base;
trichomes sparse at nodes, sparse to moderate in inflorescence;
branches to 25 cm.
blades oblanceolate, spatulate, or obovate, flattened, 5–30 × 2–12 mm, apex acute to submucronate; involucrelike leaves 6–8(–9).
blades linear to lanceolate, terete, 6–14 × 0.5–3 mm, apex obtuse; involucrelike leaves 5–7.
5–20 mm diam.;
petals pink to purple, obovate, 7–10 × 4–8 mm;
stamens 15–45;
stigmas 7–10.
20–25 mm diam.;
petals connate basally, purple-red, narrowly obovate-cuneate, 10–12 × 6–9 mm, apex deeply 2-lobed;
stamens 40 or more;
stigmas 4–6(–7).
ovoid, 2–5.5 mm diam.
subglobose, 2.5–5 mm diam.
black, orbiculate, flattened, 0.4–0.6 mm diam., shiny;
surface cells obscurely stellate, tuberculate to ± smooth.
gray, 0.7–0.8 mm diam.;
surface cells mostly stellate, tuberculate.
= 18.
= 18.
Portulaca amilis
Portulaca biloba
Prior to 1981, Portulaca amilis had been included conceptually within P. pilosa (A. E. Radford et al. 1968). However, W. S. Judd and R. P. Wunderlin (1981) correctly identified P. amilis as an introduction from South America. It tends to occur in the sandy soils at the junction of the coastal plain and the piedmont provinces, but it is also spreading north and south through the coastal plain, where it has exhibited a weedy nature, as shown by collection data from Virginia to Florida. Portulaca amilis has only pink to purple petals in the United States; C. D. Legrand (1962) reported a yellow form of the species in South America. A. F. Clewell (1985) incorrectly gave the petal color of P. amilis as yellow. J. F. Matthews and P. A. Levins (1985) traced the spread of the species in the southeast and theorized as to the means of introduction.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Portulaca biloba, previously known only from Cuba, is presently known from five sites in three Georgia counties. The infrequency of chasmogamous flowers suggests that it is “out of habitat.” The earliest collection is from 1965, but the date of its first introduction to the United States is unknown. One theory of introduction suggests seeds brought in by tropical storms (J. F. Matthews et al. 1991).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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