Portulaca wightiana Wall. ex Wight & Arn., Prodr. Fl. Ind. Orient. 356 1834. (syn: Anacampseros somaliensis ; Portulaca collina Dinter; Portulaca paleacea Peter ex Poelln.; Portulaca usambarensis Poelln.; Portulaca usambarensis var. granulata Poelln.);   

Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, N-Tanzania, India (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu), Sri
Lanka, South Africa (Limpopo), Namibia, S-Zimbabwe
as per Catalogue of Life;


Perennial herbs, about 3-10 cm long, caespitose, stem prostrate or ascending, usually woody at the base, much branched, terete or angled, internodes very short, about 2-3 mm, root woody, slender and long. Leaves simple, subopposite or alternate, ovate-cordate, about 4-5 x 2-2.5 mm across, base slightly connate, margin entire, apex acute, covered or enveloped by large axillary silvery scales which in also cover internodes, which are caducous, scales ovate-deltoid, membranous, apex acute, about 4 x 2 mm across, petiole subsessile to sessile. Inflorescence terminal capituli, flowering successively, about 2-7 flowered, subtented by scales, surrounded by hairs. Flowers bisexual, pedicel subsessile or sessile, sepals 2, ovate-deltoid, base clasping, margins scarious or herbaceous, apex keeled, about 3-3.3 mm long, petals 4, yellow, free or subconnate at the base, elliptic, margins entire, apex acute, about 2.8 x 1.7 mm across. Stamens 10, filaments basally connate, about 0.8 mm long, anthers 2 locular, dorsifixed. Ovary semi inferior, unilocular, ovules many, style 3-6 fid, about 2-3 mm long. Fruit capsule, globose-ovoid, about 2 mm across, papery, yellow straw colored, dehiscing circumscissile at the middle. Seeds many, reniform-globose, about 0.6 mm across, laterally compressed, testa cells hexangular, dark brown.

On moist sandy coasts
Asia: India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka
(Attributions- Ganeshaiah, K. N., UAS, Bangalore, India.; Kailash, B. R., ATREE, Bangalore, India.; Royal Norwegian Embassy grants. Indian Bioresource Information Network (IBIN), Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi as per India Biodiversity Portal)



Date: 15 November 2009

Place: Tamarabarani River Bank, Tirunelveli District, TN.
Found in plains. kindly help to id this Portulacaceae member.


Is this herb, Portulaca tuberosa ?


I think it should be Portulaca wightiana as per Flora of Peninsular India, GBIF and

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