Plant Name
Scientific Name: Trianthema portulacastrum
Common Names: Desert Horsepurslane, Desert Horse-purslane, Pigweed
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual, Perennial
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Desert, Riparian. This plant is a weed in irrigated areas.
Flower Color: Pink, Pinkish purple
Flowering Season: Summer, Fall
Height: To 39 inches (99 cm) tall, but typically less since the plants are prostrate
Description: The flowers are tiny, 5-lobed, and only open in the morning. The leaves are green, succulent, oval-shaped, and in opposite pairs of unequal size. The stems are fleshy, prostrate, and often reddish in color.
Special Characteristics
Edible – The young leaves are edible and were gathered as summer greens by the Tohono O'odham.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Caryophyllidae
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Aizoaceae – Fig-marigold family
Genus: Trianthema L. – trianthema
Species: Trianthema portulacastrum L. – desert horsepurslane
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