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Electronic Flora of South Australia species Fact Sheet

Family: Portulacaceae
Portulaca intraterranea

Citation: J. Black, Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 50:283 (1926).

Synonymy: P. oleracea L. var. grandiflora Benth., Fl. Aust. 1:169 (1863).

Common name: Large pigweed.

Description:
Stout prostrate to decumbent annual or sometimes perennial succulent herb with thickened tap root; stems spreading to erect, to 20 cm long; leaves spirally arranged to subopposite, sessile or with a petiole to 1.5 mm long, obovate to oblanceolate, truncate to obtuse, sometimes emarginate, 0.6-2 x 0.4-1 cm; axillary hairs few, inconspicuous, to 1 mm long.

Heads 3- or 4-flowered; sepals ovate, 6-8 mm long, keeled; petals yellow, obovate to elliptic, 10-17 mm long, 6-8 mm wide; stamens 25-35; stigmas 3-5, on a style c. 2.5 mm long, slightly longer than the stigmatic arms.

Capsule subovoid, 3-5 mm long, operculum about twice as long as the base; seeds orbicular to sub-obovoid, black, shiny to dull, c. 1 mm diam., tuberculate, the tubercles nippled or pointed.

image of FSA1_Portulaca_int.jpg Seed
Image source: fig. 134a in Jessop J.P. & Toelken H.R. (Ed.) 1986. Flora of South Australia (4th edn).

Published illustration: Cunningham et al. (1982) Plants of western New South Wales, p. 300.

Distribution:  Grows on sand dunes of central Australia.

S.Aust.: LE.   W.Aust.; N.T.; Qld; N.S.W.

Conservation status: native

Flowering time: Aug. — Dec.


SA Distribution Map based
on current data relating to
specimens held in the
State Herbarium of South Australia

Biology: No text

Author: Not yet available


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