| Portulacaceae | |
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| A large array ofPortulaca umbraticola andPortulaca oleracea (middle right) | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Portulacaceae Juss.[1] |
| Genera | |
ThePortulacaceae are afamily offlowering plants, comprising 115 species in a single genusPortulaca.[2] Formerly some 20 genera with about 500 species, were placed there, but it is now restricted to encompass only one genus. It is also known as thepurslane family. It has acosmopolitan distribution, with the highest diversity in semiarid regions of theSouthern Hemisphere inAfrica,Australia, andSouth America, but with a few species also extending north intoArctic regions. The family is very similar to theCaryophyllaceae, differing in thecalyx, which has only two sepals.
TheAPG II system (2003; unchanged from theAPG system of 1998) assigns it to the orderCaryophyllales in the cladecore eudicots. In theAPG III system, several genera were moved to theMontiaceae,Didiereaceae,Anacampserotaceae andTalinaceae, thus making the family monotypic and only containing the genusPortulaca.[1]
The following species are accepted:[3]
Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is widely consumed as an edible plant, and in some areas it is invasive.Portulaca grandiflora is a well-known ornamental garden plant. Purslanes are relished bychickens. SomePortulaca species are used as food plants by thelarvae of someLepidoptera species including thenutmeg moth (Hadula trifolii).
Media related toPortulacaceae at Wikimedia Commons
Data related toPortulacaceae at Wikispecies| National | |
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| Other | |
