Portulaca oleracea
Portulaca umbraticola
common purslane, little hogweed, purslane
wing-pod purslane
prostrate, succulent;
trichomes at nodes and in inflorescence absent or inconspicuous;
branches to 56 cm.
prostrate to suberect;
trichomes sparse at nodes and in inflorescence, stems otherwise glabrous;
branches 5–20 cm.
blades obovate or spatulate, flattened, 4–28 × 2–13 mm, apex round to retuse or nearly truncate; involucrelike leaves 1–4.
blades obovate, spatulate, or sometimes lanceolata, flattened, 10–35 × 2–15 mm, apex rounded to truncate; involucrelike leaves 4–5.
3–10 mm diam.;
petals yellow, oblong, 3–4.6 × 1.8–3 mm;
stamens 6–12(–20);
stigmas 3–6.
8–15 mm diam.;
petals yellow or yellow tipped with red or copper, spatulate or obovate, 5–10 × 3–6 mm, apex acute or cuspidate;
stamens 7–30;
stigmas (3–)5–18.
ovoid, 4–9 mm diam.
obovoid or turbinate, 3–5 mm diam., with encircling, expanded, membranaceous wing 0.5–1.5 mm wide proximal to suture.
black or dark brown, orbiculate or elongate, flattened, 0.6–1.1 mm;
surface cells ± smooth, granular, or stellate, with rounded tubercles.
gray, round or elongate, flattened, 0.5–1 mm;
surface cells stellate with long tubercles.
= 18, 36, 54.
Portulaca oleracea
Portulaca umbraticola
A. P. Simopoulos and N. Salem Jr. (1986) and A. P. Simopoulos et al. (1992) have shown Portulaca oleracea to have the highest content of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants of any green leafy vegetable examined to date, suggesting that common purslane should be considered for its nutritional value and not for its weediness. It has long been used as fodder and may have been present in the New World in pre-Columbian times (R. Byrne and J. H. McAndrews 1975). Currently, it is fed to poultry to reduce egg cholesterol.
Portulaca oleracea is a highly variable species with worldwide distribution in temperate to warm regions and is the most winter-hardy of all the portulacas. It is a very aggressive weed, one of the ten most noxious weeds worldwide (J. S. Singh and K. P. Singh 1967). As such, many variants have been named (C. D. Legrand 1962) based on seed surface differences, size of seeds, or on variable characters of growth habit, leaf length, and number of stamens. Seven subspecies were recognized by A. Danin et al. (1978): subsp. oleracea, subsp. impolita Danin & H. G. Baker, subsp. granulatostellulata Danin & H. G. Baker, subsp. nicaraguensis Danin & H. G. Baker, subsp. nitida Danin & H. G. Baker, subsp. papillatostellulata Danin & H. G. Baker, and subsp. stellata Danin & H. G. Baker.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Subspecies 3 (2 in the flora).
Portulaca umbraticola is a common weedy species of the southwestern United States, while in the southeastern United States it is usually restricted to sandy soils of granitic and sandstone outcrops. In 1982–1983, a new cultivar was introduced to the United States in hanging baskets, under the name Portulaca umbraticola ‘Wildfire Mixed,’ which appears to be selected from material from South America. There is no seed surface variability in any of the three subspecies.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Petals entirely yellow | subsp. coronata |
1. Petals yellow tipped with red (copper) | subsp. lanceolata |
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