Portulaca oleracea L.
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Authority
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.
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Family
Portulacaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Stem prostrate, usually purplish-red, glabrous, repeatedly branched, forming large mats, edible when young; lvs edible, succulent but flat, spatulate to obovate-cuneate, 1–3 cm, commonly rounded at the summit, the cauline alternate or occasionally opposite; fls solitary or in small terminal glomerules, sessile, self-compatible, yellow, 5–10 mm wide; sep ± acute; stamens mostly 6–10; style-branches 4–6; seeds with low, blunt tubercles, requiring light for germination; polyploid series on x=9. A cosmopolitan weed, probably originally native to s. Asia. All summer.
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Common Names
common purslane