Portulaca oleracea L.

Taxonomy: Plantae > Tracheophyta > Equisetopsida > Caryophyllales > Portulacaceae > Portulaca > P. oleracea

Description: Annual herb, glabrous, fleshy with numerous decumbent branches, to 35 cm long. Leaves spiral or subopposite, often crowded at ends of branches, sessile or subsessile, obovate or spatulate to linear-oblong, cuneate or attenuate at base, rounded or truncate at apex, stipular hairs very few, inconspicuous, ca 1 mm long, caducous. Flowers sessile, ca 3 mm across, terminal, 1-15, surrounded by a cluster of crowded leaves; bracts ovate-acuminate, to 3 mm long, membranous. Sepals connate at base into a ca 2 mm long tube; lobes oblong-ovate, keeled or slightly winged on back, 2-4 mm long. Petals: 4 or 5, connate at base, broadly obovate or oblong-obovate, rarely emarginate at apex, yellow. Stamens 7-12(-15); filaments to 4 mm long. Ovary ovoid; style short, to 5 mm long with 3-6 subulate lobes. Capsules obovoid to ovoid, 4-5 x ca 3 mm, enveloped by marcescent corolla, dehiscing transversely in middle; seeds many, reniform, 0.5-1mm across, granular, dull black.

Flowering and Fruiting : June to September

Uses: Apis florea mostly observed foraging on the flowers. Leaves cooked with lentils make a tasty vegetable. Sometimes brought for sale to the local market.

Cultivation: Common

References

http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org

https://indiabiodiversity.org