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jewels of opar, pink baby-breath, rama del sapo

Habit Plants to 15 dm. Plants to 15 dm.
Stems

sometimes reddish, slender.

usually stout.

Leaves

to 12 cm, reduced abruptly beneath inflorescence;

blade elliptic to obovate, base attenuate.

to 9 cm;

blade obovate to oblanceolate, base attenuate.

Inflorescences

paniculate, sometimes nodding.

racemose or cymose.

Flowers

sepals deciduous, sometimes reflexed, ovate to suborbiculate, 2.5–4 mm;

petals red or pink, sometimes orangish, yellowish, or purplish, ovate to suborbiculate, 3–6 mm;

stamens ca. 15–20;

stigmas 3, linear;

pedicel terete, ± uniformly slender, to 20 mm.

sepals persistent, lanceolate to ovate, 5–6 mm;

petals purplish, pink, or white, sometimes yellow, elliptic to ovate, 7–13 mm;

stamens 20–35;

stigma 1, 3-lobed;

pedicel triquetrous, distally thickened, to 12 mm.

Capsules

subglobose, sometimes obtusely trigonous, 3–5 mm, exocarp and endocarp usually separating after dehiscence;

endocarp valves persistent, remaining connate at apex, attached to receptacle by vascular strands from capsule apex;

exocarp dehiscing from apex, valves deciduous ± separately.

subglobose, 4–6 mm;

exocarp and endocarp usually not separating after dehiscence, valves wholly deciduous.

2n

= 24.

= 24, 48.

Talinum paniculatum

Talinum fruticosum

Phenology Flowering and fruiting Jun–Nov, year-round in s Fla. Flowering and fruiting year-round.
Habitat Moist to dry woodlands and savannas, also desert scrub, grasslands, beaches, on flats, mounds, slopes, ledges, in sand, clay, limestone, sandstone, igneous, often rocky soils and crevices Pinelands, hammocks, and disturbed areas, sandy soils
Elevation 0-2200 m (0-7200 ft) 0-100 m (0-300 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; FL; GA; KY; LA; NC; NM; SC; TX; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies [Introduced in s Africa and s Asia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; Mexico; Central America; South America; West Indies; Africa
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Talinum paniculatum is generally thought to be native west of the Mississippi River and adventive eastward, where it often is weedy. In many herbaria, specimens of T. paniculatum are filed as T. patens. Talinum spathulatum (T. chrysanthum) sometimes is recognized separately, but the few differences are minor and inconsistent, and almost all degrees of intergradation occur over much of the range.

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

Talinum fruticosum is a primarily tropical species that may not be native in the flora area. In western Africa, the leaves are eaten as a potherb.

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

Source FNA vol. 4, p. 503. FNA vol. 4, p. 503.
Parent taxa Portulacaceae > Talinum Portulacaceae > Talinum
Sibling taxa
T. fruticosum
T. paniculatum
Synonyms Portulaca paniculata, T. chrysanthum, T. paniculatum var. sarmentosum, T. patens, T. sarmentosum, T. spathulatum Portulaca fruticosa, Portulaca triangularis, T. triangulare
Name authority (Jacquin) Gaertner: Fruct. Sem. Pl. 2: 219. (1791) (Linnaeus) Jussieu: Gen. Pl., 312. (1789)
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