Portulaca umbraticola (Wingpod Purslane)

Scientific Name

Portulaca umbraticola Kunth

Common Names

Wingpod Purslane, Crownpod Purslane

Synonyms

Portulaca umbraticola subsp. umbraticola, Portulaca coronata, Portulaca denudata, Portulaca lanceolata, Portulaca plano-operculata

Scientific Classification

Family: Portulacaceae
Subfamily: Portulacarioideae
Genus: Portulaca

Description

Portulaca umbraticola is an annual or short-lived perennial, up to 10 inches (25 cm) tall, often incorrectly sold under the name of Portulaca oleracea. The uncultivated species is usually considered a weed, but it is the hybrid parent to many ornamental Purslanes sold at garden centers. The leaves are small, succulent, green and linear to spatulate in shape. The stems are fleshy, hairless, often reddish in color and prostrate, ascending or erect. The flowers are small, yellow or yellow tipped with red or copper and up to 0.6 inch (1.5 cm) across.

Hardiness

It is grown as an annual plant, so it has no USDA hardiness zone.

How to Grow and Care

Portulaca plants tolerate many kinds of soil but prefer sandy, well-drained soil and love the full sunlight. These plants are excellent for high heat and drought tolerance, and will seed and spread themselves very well. Some control methods may be needed to keep Portulacas from becoming invasive to areas where they are not wanted. These wonderful plants do spread easily and very well.

These succulents require no attention at all when growing and flowering. However you should remove them from the garden before Portulaca have chance to set seed as they may take over the garden. You do not need to water often for proper Portulaca care. The cylindrical foliage of the plants retains moisture very well, thus, regular watering is not needed. When they are watered, just a light watering will do, as their root zone is very shallow.

The seeds of Portulacas should be sown on the soil surface following the last frost of spring. Ideally these plants should be grown in a sunny part of the garden. If starting Portulaca indoors then start about one and a half months in advance… – See more at: How to Grow and Care for Portulaca

Origin

Portulaca umbraticola is native to the arid areas of Central and South America.

Links

• Back to genus Portulaca
• Succulentopedia: Browse succulents by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, Origin, or cacti by Genus

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