Common Purslane

Common Purslane
Common Purslane. Portulaca oleracea.
Portulacaceae, the purslane family.

Description:
Plant: Prostrate, branched, creeping plant with reddish stems, fleshy leaves, and small, yellow flowers that open only for a few hours in the sunshine. Annual.
Flowers: Yellow, about 1/4", with five notched petals, two sepals, and eight or more stamens. Solitary in leaf axils, or sometimes in small clusters.
Leaves: Alternate, sometimes opposite, fleshy-succulent, 1/2"-3/2", obovate with rounded tips and short petiols.
Fruit: A small, rounded capsule.
Blooming: June-Frost
Habitat: Open, cultivated and waste areas

Comments: Well known as a garden weed, most purslane in North America is probably introduced stock from Eurasia, but there is some evidence that the plant predates European colonization in a few areas. The plant leaves and stems are edible as a potherb and salad green, and it is sometimes cultivated for this purpose. The yellow flowers open in the sunshine for only a few hours.

Where to find it: Growing as an occasional weed around the lodge gardens.