Portulaca

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

Portulaca (/ˌpɔːrtjuːˈleɪkə/, 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

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.)

Gallery

• 

  Purslane cultivar

External links

• USDA PLANTS Database