Plant Name
Scientific Name: Portulaca suffrutescens
Common Names: Shrubby Purslane, Copper Purslane
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Subshrub, Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert (upper elevation), Upland
Flower Color: Pale orange to coppery orange
Flowering Season: Summer
Height: To 1 foot (30 cm) tall
Description: The flowers are up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) across and have 5 fan-shaped, notch-tipped petals with dark red-orange at their base. The flowers open in the morning and close by midday. The flowers are followed by lidded seed capsules. The leaves are green, fleshy, succulent, and terete (cylindrical in shape but slightly tapering at both ends and circular in cross section). The stems are succulent, hairy only at the leaf nodes and inflorescences, and erect or ascending (never trailing). The roots are thickened and tuberous.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Caryophyllidae
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Portulacaceae – Purslane family
Genus: Portulaca L. – purslane
Species: Portulaca suffrutescens Engelm. – shrubby purslane
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