Portulacaceae | |
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A large array of Portulaca umbraticola and Portulaca oleracea (middle right) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Portulacaceae Juss. [1] |
Genera | |
The Portulacaceae are a family of flowering plants, comprising 115 species in a single genus Portulaca . [2] Formerly some 20 genera with about 500 species, were placed there, but it is now restricted to encompass only one genus, the other genera being placed elsewhere. The family has been recognised by most taxonomists, and is also known as the purslane family. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the highest diversity in semiarid regions of the Southern Hemisphere in Africa, Australia, and South America, but with a few species also extending north into Arctic regions. The family is very similar to the Caryophyllaceae, differing in the calyx, which has only two sepals.
The APG II system (2003; unchanged from the APG system of 1998) assigns it to the order Caryophyllales in the clade core eudicots. In the APG III system, several genera were moved to the Montiaceae, Didiereaceae, Anacampserotaceae and Talinaceae, thus making the family monotypic and only containing the genus Portulaca . [1]
The following species are accepted: [3]
Common purslane ( Portulaca oleracea ) is widely consumed as an edible plant, and in some areas it is invasive. Portulaca grandiflora is a well-known ornamental garden plant. Purslanes are relished by chickens. Some Portulaca species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the nutmeg moth (Hadula trifolii).
The Asclepiadoideae are a subfamily of plants in the family Apocynaceae. Formerly, they were treated as a separate family under the name Asclepiadaceae, e.g. by APG II, and known as the milkweed family.
The Restionaceae, also called restiads and restios, are a family of flowering plants native to the Southern Hemisphere; they vary from a few centimeters to 3 meters in height. Following the APG IV (2016): the family now includes the former families Anarthriaceae, Centrolepidaceae and Lyginiaceae, and as such includes 51 genera with 572 known species. Based on evidence from fossil pollens, the Restionaceae likely originated more than 65 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous period, when the southern continents were still part of Gondwana.
Portulaca oleracea is an annual succulent in the family Portulacaceae.
Portulaca is the type genus of the flowering plant family Portulacaceae, with over 100 species, found in the tropics and warm temperate regions. They are known as the purslanes.
Azorella is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae, native to South America, New Zealand, southeastern Australia, and the islands of the Southern Ocean.
Calandrinia is a large genus of flowering plants known as purslanes and redmaids. It includes over 100 species of annual and perennial herbs which bear colorful flowers in shades of red to purple and white. Plants of this genus are native to Australia, western South America, Central America, and western North America. Some species have been introduced to parts of New Zealand, southern Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Claytonia is a genus of flowering plants native to Asia, North America, and Central America. The vitamin-rich leaves can be eaten raw or cooked, and the tubers can be prepared like potatoes.
Portulaca grandiflora is a succulent flowering plant in the family Portulacaceae, native to southern Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay and often cultivated in gardens. It has many common names, including rose moss, eleven o'clock, Mexican rose, moss rose, sun rose, rock rose, and moss-rose purslane.
Talinum paniculatum is a succulent subshrub in the family Talinaceae that is native to much of North and South America, and the Caribbean countries. It is commonly known as fameflower, Jewels-of-Opar, or pink baby's-breath.
Cleome is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cleomaceae, commonly known as spider flowers, spider plants, spider weeds, or bee plants. Previously, it had been placed in the family Capparaceae, until DNA studies found the Cleomaceae genera to be more closely related to the Brassicaceae than the Capparaceae. Cleome and clammyweed can sometimes be confused. The simplest way to differentiate the two is to compare the seedpods which project out or down on cleome and up on clammyweed.
Bulbine is a genus of plants in the family Asphodelaceae and subfamily Asphodeloideae, named for the bulb-shaped tuber of many species. It was formerly placed in the Liliaceae. It is found chiefly in Southern Africa, with a few species extending into tropical Africa and a few others in Australia and Yemen.
Capparis is a flowering plant genus, comprising around 250 species in the family Capparaceae which is included in the Brassicaceae in the unrevised APG II system. These plants are shrubs or lianas and are collectively known as caper shrubs or caperbushes. Capparis species occur over a wide range of habitat in the subtropical and tropical zones.
Portulaca pilosa is a species of flowering succulent plant in the purslane family, Portulacaceae, that is native to the Americas. Its common names include pink purslane, kiss-me-quick and hairy pigweed. Its range extends from the southern United States and the Caribbean as far south as Brazil. It is a succulent with linear leaves and pink flowers.
AnacampserosL. is a genus comprising about a hundred species of small perennial succulent plants native to Southern Africa, Ethiopia and Latin America. The botanical name Anacampseros is an ancient one for herbs supposed to restore lost love.
Dysphania is a plant genus in the family Amaranthaceae, distributed worldwide from the tropics and subtropics to warm-temperate regions.
Portulaca suffrutescens, the shrubby purslane, is a plant species native to the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. It has been found in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Querétaro and Guerrero.
Portulaca umbraticola, also known as the wingpod purslane, is an annual or short-lived perennial succulent in the genus of flowering plants Portulaca.