Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Caryophyllales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Portulaca oleracea
FAMILY
Portulacaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Read more about Common Purslane at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
In North America, P. oleracea (in the broad sense) is a widespread, sometimes noxious weed, probably representing native and introduced genotypes, treated as multiple subspecies by some authors. During the Great Depression, P. oleracea was eaten extensively in the Valley of Virginia and elsewhere in our region as a potherb. Read more in Weakley's Flora (2022)
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Portulaca oleracea
FAMILY
Portulacaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Portulaca oleracea
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Portulaca oleracea
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 070-03-005:
Portulaca oleracea FAMILY Portulacaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Portulaca oleracea
COMMON NAME:
Common Purslane, Garden Purslane, Pussley, Pursley
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_pool_001_lvd
)
USDA / Selected Weeds of the US. 1970 swus_page_153
)
JK Marlow jkm140625_310
June Greenville County SC
Swamp Rabbit Trail
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_p_oleracea_3254
September Iredell County NC
Flowers bright yellow, 1/4-3/8" wide, mostly solitary in a rosette of leaves, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_p_oleracea_3255
September Iredell County NC
A prostrate, branching succulent w reddish stems which blooms briefly in AM, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
)
Terry Holdsclaw tdh_portulaca_oleracea_1
September Catawba County NC
Thick, flat obovate leaves about 1" long, per Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Portulaca oleracea
FAMILY
Portulacaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Portulaca oleracea
FAMILY
Portulacaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Portulaca oleracea
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Portulaca oleracea
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 070-03-005:
Portulaca oleracea
FAMILY
Portulacaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Portulaca oleracea
3109
Forb
Annual
Habitat: Gardens, disturbed areas, cracks in sidewalks; partly native in our area (different genotypes, sometimes treated as varieties, subspecies, or species, appear to have different areas of origin but are now widely distributed by introduction), per Weakley's Flora
Partly native and partly introduced
Common
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
Leaves alternate or subopposite, congested & involucre-like at inflorescence
Margins entire
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Yellow
Radially symmetrical
2 sepals
5-7 petals
Ovary half-inferior
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p246
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p208
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p008
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p297
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p036
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".