return to: checklist; keys, key 1; key 3; family Portulacaceae
Low
herb with succulent stems and leaves; leaves alternate or opposite,
simple, elliptic to obovate, nearly sessile, margin entire, apex
rounded; flowers in leaf axils, nearly sessile; sepals 2, with
a prominent keel; petals yellow; fruit capsular, dehiscing by
an equatorial suture.
A cosmopolitan weed, native to Europe. Shoots can be cooked and consumed as a green vegetable. Standley (1930) mentions reports of localized use as a medicine, purgative and emolient. Listed as an important source of pollen and/or nectar for bees (Souza Novello 1981, Suarez Molina 1981).
Additional image:
