Flora of North America species comparison

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Portulaca halimoides

Portulacaceae

desert portulaca, purslane, silkcotton purslane

purslane family
Habit Plants annual; roots fibrous. Subshrubs [shrubs] or herbs, annual, biennial, or perennial, often succulent or fleshy.
Stems

prostrate to suberect, often pinkish, succulent;

trichomes conspicuous at nodes and in inflorescence;

branches to 3–20(–25) cm.

Leaves

blades linear to oblong-linear, terete to hemispheric, 2–14(–20) × 0.4–2(–3) mm, apex obtuse to acute; involucrelike leaves 4–8.

opposite, subopposite, or alternate and sometimes secund, sometimes rosulate or subrosulate, exstipulate (except Portulaca and Talinopsis, with nodal or axillary hairs regarded as stipular);

blade margins mostly entire, occasionally dentate to crisped.
Inflorescences

axillary or terminal, cymose, racemose, paniculate, or umbellate, sometimes glomerate, spikelike, or with flowers solitary, open to congested.
Flowers

3–8 mm diam.;

petals yellow, obovate, 2–4 × 1–2.5 mm;

stamens 4–18;

stigmas 3–4(–5).

mostly radially symmetric, sometimes slightly irregular (in Montia);

sepals 2–9;

petals (1–)2–19 or sometimes absent, distinct or connate basally;

stamens 1–many, opposite and sometimes basally adnate to petals;

gynoecium 2–9-carpelled;

ovary 1, superior (half-inferior to inferior in Portulaca), 1-locular throughout or initially plurilocular and becoming 1-locular distally (in Portulaca), placentation basal or free-central, ovules 1-many;

style present, sometimes branched, or absent;

stigmas 1–9.
Fruits

capsular.
Capsules

ovoid, 1.1–2 mm diam.

Seeds

gray or leaden, 0.3–0.5(–0.6) mm diam.;

lateral surfaces with densely arranged, flattened, stellate cells, tubercles absent; usually with a smooth, occasionally papillose, spine abaxially.

smooth or sculptured, with or without strophioles or elaiosomes.
x

= 4–9, 11, 13, 15, 23.
2n

= 18.

Portulaca halimoides

Portulacaceae
Phenology Flowering late spring–early fall.
Habitat Dry soil, sand dunes, arroyos
Elevation 900-2300 m (3000-7500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; NV; OK; TX; UT; Central America; South America; West Indies
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Primarily Southern Hemisphere; poorly represented in Eurasia
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Young plants of Portulaca halimoides in desert areas may exhibit reddish stems and sepals. As the yellow petals fade, the persistent, reddish sepals cover the top of the capsule, giving the false impression of red flowers. Immature seeds are reddish brown to brownish black and may be papillose. Morphologic variability occurs in relation to habitat differences over the range of this species. Desert conditions produce depauperate plants; more robust specimens occur in Central America and South America. The type of P. halimoides is conspecific with P. parvula A. Gray within this context. A. Gray (1887) cited P. halimoides from the Florida Keys; that is unconfirmed and is likely a confusion with P. rubricaulis.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Genera 20–30, species ca. 500 (9 genera, 91 species in the flora).

The eastern New World species of Portulacaceae seem to have a closer relationship with the African species, and the western New World species a closer one with the Australian species, than the two New World groups have with each other to each other.

The outer perianth segments, referred to herein as sepals, are held by some (e.g., T. Eckardt 1976) to be modified bracteoles, the petals then representing the true sepals. However, the traditional interpretation, adopted here and in most North American floras, still finds current support (R. C. Carolin 1987). A comparable situation prevails with respect to the cauline leaves in Claytonia and other genera, which are widely interpreted to be foliaceous bracts (R. C. Carolin 1987); here again, as is appropriate in a descriptive context, the traditional terminology is employed. In Talinopsis and Portulaca, the stipular nature of the nodal or axillary hairs also has been a matter of discussion. The question was revisited by R. Geesink (1969), who denied their stipular origin.

The relationships of the family are not a matter of dispute (A. Cronquist 1981; R. C. Carolin 1987); the same cannot be said for the relationships and delimitations of the genera, which have always been labile. They are, at present, the subject of active research, which has led to the current acceptance of Phemeranthus and Cistanthe. Changes in the generic classification are discussed in the treatments of the genera concerned.

Because of the uncertain relationships, the genera and species are listed alphabetically.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Key
1. Ovary half-inferior to inferior
Portulaca
1. Ovary superior
→ 2
2. Subshrubs; stem nodes pubescent
Talinopsis
2. Herbs; stem nodes glabrous
→ 3
3. Capsule dehiscence circumscissile, valves longitudinally dehiscent from base
→ 4
3. Capsule dehiscence not circumscissile, valves longitudinally dehiscent from apex
→ 5
4. Petals 25-40 mm; seeds strophiolate; nc Washington to extreme sc British Columbia
Cistanthe
4. Petals 4-26 mm (15-35 mm in Lewisia rediviva); seeds estrophiolate; more widespread
Lewisia
5. Stigmas 2; capsule valves 2
Cistanthe
5. Stigmas 1 or 3; capsule valves 2-3
→ 6
6. Sepals mostly deciduous; inflorescences not appearing secund; leaves articulate at base, attachment points round, not clasping; capsule valves wholly or partly deciduous
→ 7
6. Sepals persistent; inflorescences somewhat to markedly secund (at least distally); leaves not articulate at base, attachment points linear, somewhat to markedly clasping; capsule valves not deciduous
→ 8
7. Leaf blades broadly planate, 1-7 cm wide; capsules tardily dehiscent, valves or portions of them sometimes persistent; exocarp and endocarp distinctly differentiated, sometimes separating; seeds minutely tuberculate or striolate, strophiolate, not covered by membrane
Talinum
7. Leaf blades terete or semiterete, 1-3 mm wide, (narrowly planate, 1[-2] cm wide in Phemeranthus aurantiacus); capsules promptly dehiscent, valves deciduous; exocarp and endocarp not evidently differentiated and not separating; seeds smooth, rugulose, or distinctly ridged, estrophiolate, covered by thin, fleshy to chartaceous membrane
Phemeranthus
8. Ovules and seeds (1-)7-40
→ 9
8. Ovules 3 or 6; seeds 1-6
→ 10
9. Leaves and sepals sometimes with elongate, unicellular hairs; sepals distinctly angular or keeled; capsule valves reflexed after dehiscence, margins markedly involute
Calandrinia
9. Leaves and sepals without elongate, unicellular hairs; sepals not distinctly angled or keeled; capsule valves not reflexed after dehiscence, margins not markedly involute
Cistanthe
10. Cauline leaves 2 (rarely 3 in whorl), distinct or partially or completely connate; ovules 3 or 6
Claytonia
10. Cauline leaves more than 2, distinct; ovules 3
Montia
Source FNA vol. 4, p. 499. FNA vol. 4, p. 457. Author: John G. Packer.
Parent taxa Portulacaceae > Portulaca
Sibling taxa
P. amilis, P. biloba, P. grandiflora, P. oleracea, P. pilosa, P. rubricaulis, P. smallii, P. suffrutescens, P. umbraticola
Subordinate taxa
Calandrinia, Cistanthe, Claytonia, Lewisia, Montia, Phemeranthus, Portulaca, Talinopsis, Talinum
Synonyms P. parvula
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. ed. 2, 1: 639. (1762) Adanson
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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