Herbarium JCB

Portulaca oleracea L.

Family : PORTULACACEAE
(Purslane Family)
Family (Hindi name) : LUNIA FAMILY (लुनिया फैमिली)
Family (as per The APG System III) : PORTULACACEAE
Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Portulaca oleracea L.
Common name : Common purselane, Garden purselane, Indian parselane
Vernacular name : Khursa, Baralaniya, Khulpha (Hindi); Vazhukkaikeerai, Karikeerai, Pulikeerai, Parupukkirai (Tamil); Payalaku, Pedda payili-kura, Ganga pavili-kura, Pappu koora (Telugu); Parunigag, Bada balbaluva (Oria); Bhuigoli, Kurfah, Mhotighol (Marathi); Cheriyagolicheera, Karicheera, Kozhuppa, Kozhuppacheera, Manalcheera, Suvandacheera, Uppucheera (Malayalam)
Habit : Herb
Habitat : Wet areas in degraded forests, also weed of cultivation
Comments / notes : Leaf is edible and used as a vegetable
Key identification features : Succulent prostrate herb. Leaves obovate, truncate at apex. Flowers yellow. Capsule cone-shaped. Seeds numerous dark brown to black
Flower, Fruit : Throughout the year
Distribution :
- Andhra Pradesh : All districts of Andhra Pradesh
- Karnataka : Kolar district
- Kerala : All districts of Kerala
- Maharashtra : All districts of Maharashtra
- Tamil Nadu : Alagar Hills (Madurai district), Kolli Hills (Namakkal district), Shevaroy Hills (Salem district), Kalrayan Hills (Salem district), Pachamalai Hills (Tiruchirapalli district), Bodamalai Hills (Salem district), Chitteri Hills (Vellore district), Sirumalai Hills (Dindigul district), Yelagiri Hills (Vellore district), Dharmapuri Hills (Dharmapuri district), Piranmalai Hills (Sivaganga district), Theerthamalai Hills (Dharmapuri district), Gingee Hill (Villipuram district), Javadu Hills (Tiruvannamalai district)
World Distribution : Pantropical
Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
Literature : Pullaiah et al., 2002 - Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol. 1; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1; R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa; N.P.Singh, 1988. Flora of Eastern Karnataka; Franklin Benjamin & G.V.S.Murthy, 2013. Flora of Sri Venkateswara National Park, Andhra Pradesh, BSI.; Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983; Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI; Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.
Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Raja K Swamy, Deepak Kumar, Arun Singh R. and K. Gopalakrishna Bhat (2019). Flora of Peninsular India. http://peninsula.ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Portulaca oleracea. Downloaded on 20 May 2024.