Portulaca foliosa Ker Gawl.

Species

Angiosperms > Caryophyllales > Portulacaceae > Portulaca

Characteristics

Succulent herb, probably perennial; stems usually procumbent, rarely erect, up to 35 cm long, branching, the main branches 3–5 mm thick, eventually woody at the base.. Leaves alternate, linear-terete, 7–20 mm long, 1–1.5 mm wide, glaucous, obtuse; axillary hairs in tufts 1–4 mm long, shorter than the internodes, fairly inconspicuous, falcate scales absent.. Flowers in clusters of 1–3, encircled by 8 involucral leaves enclosing dense woolly hairs; involucral leaves ± equalling or up to twice as long as the stem leaves; flower-clusters frequently overtopped by subsequent growth from the axils of the involucral leaves.. Sepals red, 2.8–3.5 mm long, rounded on the back, with thickened acute tips; petals 5, yellow or orange, 4–5.5 mm long, obovate-oblong, retuse; stamens 10–25; stigma 4–6-branched.. Capsule dehiscing below the middle, lid a broadly rounded dome ± 2.5 mm high; seeds usually black (rarely silvery-grey), 0.7–0.8 mm long, the testa cells jigsaw-to stellate-shaped, convex to domed.
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Leaves alternate, up to 2·5 × 0·3 cm., linear, subcylindric, glaucous, crowded towards the ends of the branches, sessile or almost sessile, apex acute or obtuse, sometimes purplish towards the apex, longer than the internodes; stipular hairs few, not conspicuous, up to 3 mm. long.
Flowers in terminal clusters of 2–6 or rarely solitary, surrounded by a terminal cluster of subverticillate leaves and dense tufts of axillary hairs; bracts whitish, often with purple tips, membranous, ovate, long-acuminate.
Robust annual or perennial herb with branches prostrate or suberect, up to 350 mm long. Leaves linear, cylindrical. Stipular hairs few, inconspicuous, up to 3 mm long. Flowers yellow, orange or occasionally pink-tinged.
Capsule c. 5 mm. long, ovoid, enclosed in the marcescent corolla, transversely dehiscent below the middle, tipped by the persistent style base.
Seeds numerous, c. 0·5 mm. in diam., subreniform, black to dark grey, covered with concentric rings of minute impressed stelliform tubercles.
Rather robust annual or perennial herb; branches prostrate or suberect, often woody at the base, up to 35 cm. long and 5 mm. in diam.
Petals yellow or orange (or sometimes pink-tinged?), almost free, up to 8 mm. long, lanceolate-ovate, apex emarginate or refuse.
Sepals c. 3 mm. long, ovate-acuminate, often pinkish.
Ovary ovoid; style simple with 4 recurved stigmas.
An erect or decumbent herb, often woody below
Flowers yellow, solitary or in small heads.
Stamens 8–13.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity 1-3
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) 14 - 21
Germination temperacture (C°) 21 - 29
Germination luminosity light
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Leaf

Portulaca foliosa leaf picture by susan brown (cc-by-sa)
Portulaca foliosa leaf picture by susan brown (cc-by-sa)
Portulaca foliosa leaf picture by susan brown (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Portulaca foliosa world distribution map, present in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Mauritania, Malawi, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Senegal, South Sudan, eSwatini, Chad, Togo, Tanzania, United Republic of, Uganda, Yemen, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:699198-1
WFO ID wfo-0000489283
COL ID 6VVKV
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Portulaca foliosa