Common Purslane
Portulaca oleracea
(Portulaca retusa)
Photographed in the foothills of the New River Mountains north of Carefree, Arizona, USA, October 2009.
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ANNUAL: Annual that appears in late spring or in summer after rains
arrive. Grows mostly prostrate and spreading on soil.
FLOWERS: Bright yellow flowers usu. with five petals. Below the yellow
petals are two reddish sepals that enclose unopened flowers
LEAVES: Fleshy and succulent ovate leaves supported on fleshy, reddish
stems. On drying, leaves will flatten and be less succulent.
RANGE: Fairly common on rocky slopes and in washes in the upper Sonoran
Desert after periods of good precipitation. Occasionally a weed in gardens and
agricultural areas. Cosmopolitan distribution. Minute characters separated P.
retusa from P. oleracea and now it appears that the two
varieties integrade completely and P. retusa has been synonymized.
FRUIT: Dry capsule with many black or brown seeds opening by a circular
suture near base.
UNARMED. No thorns.