Portulaca phaeosperma Urb.

• Title

  Portulaca phaeosperma Urb.

• Authors

  Nathaniel Lord Britton, Frances W. Horne

• Scientific Name

  Portulaca phaeosperma Urb.

• Description

  Flora Borinqueña Portulaca phaeosperma Large Yellow Portulaca Family Portulacaceae Purslane Family Portulaca phaeosperma Urban, Symbolae Antillanae 4: 233. 1905. In Porto Rico, this yellow-flowered Portulaca is restricted in distribution to the dry southwestern districts, growing on limestone rocks near the coast, and only at low elevations, from the vicinity of Guanica, and also on the small island Mona. It ranges, geographically, through the Greater Antilles and the Bahama Islands, through the Virgin Islands, where it is not restricted to limestone, extends north to Florida, and has been observed on Curaçao. Its rather large flowers, usually few, are attractive. An account of the genus Portulaca may be found with our description of Portulaca pilosa. Portulaca phaeosperma (brown-seeded) is a fleshy, perennial herb, from 10 to 25 centimeters high, or long, with ascending branches, usually with only a few hairs in the leaf-axils. The narrowly oblong, alternate, little flattened leaves are from 5 to 16 millimeters long, and from 2 to 3.5 millimeters thick, often clustered near the ends of the branches. The solitary, or few flowers are encircled by long, brownish hairs; the sepals are about 4 millimeters long, the yellow, oblong or obovate petals from 5 to 8 millimeters long, and there are from 12 to 16 stamens. The nearly globular capsule, from 3 to 5 millimeters in diameter, opens horizontally above the middle; the brown, roughened seeds are about 0.5 millimeter in diameter.