Portulacaceae
(Purslane Family)
Habit
- ours herbs
Leaves
-
alternate or
opposite,
simple and
entire, with or without
stipules, often
succulent
Inflorescence
- cymose
Flowers
- perfect, regular
Sepals
- 2, ours
distinct (actually
bracts that look like
sepal)
Petals
- 5,
distinct or
basally connate (actually sepals)
Stamens
- opposite the petals or numerous
Ovary
-
superior, of 2-9
carpels but only 1
locule and 2-many
basal or
free-central placentae
Fruit
-
capsule, sometimes sometimes
circumscissile
Diversity
- 20 genera / 500 species
Distribution
- cosmopolitan with most in North America and Africa
Economics
- some cultivated; one, miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata), eaten in early spring
Notes
-
Images
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