Directory       News       Site Map       Home
         
    Jepson eFlora: Taxon page
Key to families | Table of families and genera

Previous taxon Indexes to all accepted names and synonyms:
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
Previous taxon

PORTULACACEAE PURSLANE FAMILY

Gilberto Ocampo

Annual to perennial herb, generally fleshy.
Stem: [1]several to many, spreading [to erect], generally glabrous.
Leaf: simple, alternate or opposite, linear, obovate, spoon-shaped, [ elliptic, ± round], flat or cylindric, hairs in axils, inconspicuous or not [0], upper 2–5 forming involucre.
Inflorescence: flowers 1 or clustered at stem tips.
Flower: bisexual, radial; sepals 2, fused at base, lower part fused to ovary and generally persistent in fruit; petals [4]5[7], fused at base, forming ring, yellow [magenta, rose, orange, white]; stamens 4–20[> 20], epipetalous or not, anthers yellow; ovary 1/2-inferior, chamber 1, ovules several to many, placenta free-central; style branches [2]3–6[12].
Fruit: capsule, circumscissile.
Seed: many, reniform, ± tubercled, black, gray, [brown, ± blue].
1 genus, ± 100 species: ± worldwide, especially tropics, subtrop; some cultivated (Portulaca grandiflora Hook.; Portulaca umbraticola Kunth). [Nyffeler & Eggli 2010 Taxon 59:227–240] All other CA genera previously in this family now in Montiaceae. —Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti.
Unabridged references: [Applequist et al. 2006 Syst Bot 31:310–319]

PORTULACA
(Probably Latin: small gate or door, from capsule lid) [Matthews 2004 FNANM 4:496–501]
Unabridged references: [Danin et al. 1978 Israel J Bot 27:177–211; Legrand 1962 Anales Mus Hist Nat (Montevideo) 2a ser 7(3):1–147]

Key to Portulaca

P. halimoides L. DESERT PORTULACA
NATIVE
Annual.
Stem: spreading to ascending, 2–15 cm.
Leaf: 3–15 mm.
Inflorescence: flowers 2–8.
Flower: sepals 1–2.5 mm, generally ± red; petals 1.5–3.5 mm, yellow; stamens 4–18; style branches 3–4.
Fruit: 1.5–2 mm wide.
Seed: 0.3–0.5 mm wide, black or metallic silver.
2n=18. Sandy washes, flats; 1000–1200 m. Peninsular Ranges, Sonoran Desert, Mojave Desert; to Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, Mexico, Central America, South America. Sep [Online Interchange] {CNPS list}
Unabridged note: There are Consortium records that, if verified, would voucher elevations up to 1859 m.

Previous taxon: Portulaca
Next taxon: Portulaca oleracea

Contact/Feedback

Name search

Citation for the whole project: Jepson Flora Project (eds.) [year] Jepson eFlora, http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/IJM.html [accessed on month, day, year]
Citation for an individual treatment: [Author of taxon treatment] [year]. [Taxon name] in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, [URL for treatment]. Accessed on [month, day, year].

Copyright © 2012 Regents of the University of California
We encourage links to these pages, but the content may not be downloaded for reposting, repackaging, redistributing, or sale in any form, without written permission from The Jepson Herbarium.


Bioregions in which taxon occursRed area (if present) is the part of the bioregion lying between the upper and lower elevation limits of the taxon;
markers link to CCH specimen records. If the markers are obscured, reload the page [or change window size and reload]. Yellow markers indicate records that may have georeferencing or identification issues.
map of distribution 1

Chart based on elevation range in Manual and elevations and coordinates of CCH records.
Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria.
Note: About half of the CCH records include both elevation and coordinates.
Map made in collaboration with Scott Loarie. Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria.
View all CCH records

 

CCH collections by month

Duplicates counted once; synonyms included.
Species do not include records of infraspecific taxa.
Blue line denotes Manual flowering time.