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 Moss Rose / Portulaca from Pat Lust's back yard |
Portulaca Twins
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Moss Rose / Portulaca from Pat Lust's back yard |
Purslane (Portulaca oleracea): Purslane is also called little hogweed and pigweed, though a wild weedy variety of amaranthus is also known as pigweed and is sometimes confused with purslane. A sprawling creeping succulent, purslane can form a dense mat and cover a sizable area of bare ground. It has thick, reddish stems and alternate or opposite leaves.
Small yellow flowers (about 1/4”) with five petals bloom when the sun shines and close up in the evening. This is a summer annual, but usually continues to bloom well into the fall. The flowers form small pods full of tiny black seeds.
Purslane is a very sturdy, persistent, plant that can perpetuate itself either through the seeds or through a cut piece of stem that forms a root. It also has a habit of putting its root back down after it has been hoed out, and seeds may continue to mature after plants have been uprooted.
While it is regarded as an invasive weed by most gardeners, purslane can be an edible tasty treat. Some favor it as a crunchy salad goodie, or as a chewy soup or stew vegetable. It has a mild, sweet-sour flavor and is good for you, because it is especially high in Omega-3 fatty acid and vitamin C. Ghandi’s, it is reported, included purslane among his favorite foods.
Purslane is widespread in the US a d Canada, but it is not native. It was imported from India and the Middle East, probably as a garden plant, and has escaped and found a new life in the weed world.
Portulaca / Moss Rose (Portulaca grandiflora): Also known as Sun Plant, portulaca is a semi succulent plant with a sprawling, creeping habit similar to purslane. It is a beautiful ground cover and is great for rock gardens. It is not, however, good between stepping stones, because it does not like being stepped on and because sometimes it grows too tall for that sort of location.
Portulaca stems are a bit thinner than those of purslane and usually light green to pink rather than red. The leaves are also much thinner. Like purslane, portulaca grows well in poor soil, and is drought and heat tolerant.
The flowers are like little roses, measuring about 1-2 inches in diameter. The range of colors includes yellow, orange, pink, red, white, and some are variegated. Flowers may be single or double, depending on the cultivar. They bloom when the sun shines and close at night or on cloudy days. Moss Rose will tolerate light shade, but the flowers will not be as spectacular. This annual blooms all summer long.
The deer love portulaca. You may have a carpet of glorious color one day and wake up to find short stubs of stems the next morning.
This popular annual was originally found in Southern Brazil and the immediately neighboring countries and is now cultivated all around the world. While is generally reseeds within a small confinement, in a few areas, moss rose, like it’s twin purslane, has escaped into the wild.
Pat Lust - Heart of Virginia Master Gardeners
posted 12/14/07
