E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Portulaca oleracea L.
common purslane (little hogweed)
Portulacaceae

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Portulaca oleracea
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Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Annual succulent herb from a taproot; stems usually prostrate, several, freely branched, 10-30 cm long.

Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves alternate to sub-opposite, spoon- to egg-shaped, 1-3 cm long, 3-10 mm wide, involucral-like at the stem tips.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of axillary and terminal clusters of unstalked flowers; buds pointed at the tips; petals usually 5, yellow, 3-5 mm long; sepals 2, keeled, sharp-pointed, 3-4 mm long; stamens 6-10, joined at the base.

Fruits:
Capsules, 3-8 mm wide; seeds black, with fine projections, 0.6-1 mm long.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Fields and waste places; infrequent in S BC; introduced from Eurasia.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Portulaca neglecta Mack. & Bush
Portulaca oleracea subsp. granulatostellulata (Poelln.) Danin & Baker
Portulaca oleracea subsp. impolita Danin & Baker
Portulaca oleracea subsp. nicaraguensis Danin & Baker
Portulaca oleracea subsp. nitida Danin & Baker
Portulaca oleracea subsp. papillatostellulata Danin & Baker
Portulaca oleracea subsp. stellata Danin & Baker
Portulaca retusa Engelm.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Portulacaceae
Flora North America treatment for Portulaca oleracea
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-09 1:23:56 PM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.