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.