Spermatophyta: Dicotyledonae: Archichlamydeae: Caryophyllales

Portulacaceae - Purslane family

Wild, H. (1961) Portulacaceae Flora Zambesiaca 1(2)

Description of the family

Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, usually glabrous and succulent. Stipules scarious, hair-like or 0. Leaves simple, opposite or alternate. Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic. Sepals 2. Petals 4-6, often shed quickly. Stamens as many as petals or more numerous. Ovary superior or half-inferior (Portulaca), 1-locular. Fruit a capsule.

Comment: Differs from the Caryophyllaceae in the 2 sepals.

Worldwide: 32 genera and 380 species, cosmopolitan, with the highest concentration of species in arid areas of the Southern hemisphere.

Zimbabwe: 3 genera and 14 taxa.

Links to genera: View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this family

Genus	Content
Anacampseros Boehm.	Description, Image
Portulaca L.	Description, Image
Talinum Adans.	Description, Image

Other sources of information about Portulacaceae:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Portulacaceae
Flora of Burundi: Portulacaceae
Flora of Caprivi: Portulacaceae
Flora of the DRC: Portulacaceae
Flora of Malawi: Portulacaceae
Flora of Mozambique: Portulacaceae
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Portulacaceae
Flora of Rwanda: Portulacaceae
Flora of Zambia: Portulacaceae
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Portulacaceae

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Portulacaceae
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Portulacaceae
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Portulacaceae
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Portulacaceae
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Portulacaceae
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Portulacaceae
JSTOR Plant Science: Portulacaceae
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Portulacaceae
Wikipedia: Portulacaceae
Plants of the World Online: Portulacaceae
Tropicos: Portulacaceae