Portulaca oleracea L.

 
  • Family : PORTULACACEAE
    (Purslane Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : LUNIA FAMILY (लुनिया फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Portulacaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Portulaca hortensis Rupr.; Portulaca officinarum Crantz; Portulaca oleracea var. sylvestris DC.; Portulaca oleracea subsp. sylvestris Čelak.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : 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, Moist soil
  • Comments / notes : Leaf is edible and used as a vegetable
  • Key identification features : Erect to decumbent, succulent, pinkish, annual Herb up to 30 cm high; Leaves fleshy, ovate or ohovate; Flowers terminal, solitary or in clusters, yellow; Capsules obovoid.
  • 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)
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Dibang Valley district, West Kameng district, East Kameng district, Subansiri district
    • Rajasthan : Jaisalmer district, Barmer district, Bikaner district, Jodhpur district
  • Native : Afghanistan, Albania, Aldabra, Algeria, Angola, Ascension, Azores, Baleares, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chagos Archipelago, Congo, Corse, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Gabon
  • Exotic/Native : Exotic
  • 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.
    • P.K . Hajra ., D.M. Verma and G.S. Giri (1996). Materials For The Flora Of Arunachal Pradesh , Vol (1), Pg : 206
  • Read more :
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2024). India Flora Online. http://indiafloraonline-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Portulaca oleracea. Downloaded on 27 July 2024.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Line Drawings

Field Image(s)

India Distribution

World Distribution
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