Portulaca pilosa
L., Sp. Pl. 445. 1753; Geesink in Blumea 17: 294. 1969 & in
Steenis, Fl. Males. 1, 7: 131. 1971 (quoad subsp. pilosa 'race' pilosa); Sivarajan in J.
Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 78: 259. 1981 (quoad var.pilosa). P. parvula auct. non A. Gray;
Y.S.
Murthy & V. Singh in Proc. Nat. Inst. Sci. India 27: 14. 1961; M. Sharma in Bull.
Bot. Surv. India 15: 136. 1976.
Perennial herbs, much branched, caespitose, up to 30 cm high, with branched
woody roots. Leaves spiral, crowded at apices of branches, subterete, 4 -
28 x 0.5 -
4
mm, linear-Ianceolate; axillary hairs sparce. Flowers pink or red-purple, 2 - 6 in
capituli. Sepals 2 -
6 x 1 -
4 mm, ovate, ecarinate or sometimes inconspicuously hooded
at apex. Petals 4 -
6, 2.5 -
8 x 1.8 -
11 long, obovate. Stamens 10 -
16; filaments 1 -
5 mm
long. Styles 2 -
8 mm long, 3 -
7-armed. Capsules 2 -
3 mm in diam., more or less globose;
operculum half the length of capsule, shining, straw-yellow to olive-green. Seeds dull or
bluish, 0.4 -
0.7 mm in diam.; testa cells elliptic, tubercled or stellulate all over except
smooth margin.
Fl. & Fr. July - Sept.
Distrib. India: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
Native of tropical America, now pantropical.
Fl. & Fr. July - Sept.
Distrib. India: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
Native of tropical America, now pantropical.