The World Flora Online

Herbs annual or perennial, rarely ± shrubby, usually succulent, usually glabrous except for nodal hairs and/or scales. Leaves alternate or opposite; true stipules absent, nodes sometimes with axillary scales and/or hairs; petiole usually poorly defined or absent; leaf blade simple, usually fleshy, margin entire. Inflorescences usually terminal, less often axillary, in cymes or racemelike panicles, forming heads of sessile flowers surrounded by an involucre of leaves, or reduced to solitary flowers. Bracts inconspicuous. Flowers bisexual, very rarely unisexual, actinomorphic. Sepals 2, free or basally connate, herbaceous or scarious. Petals 4-6 or seldom more, distinct or basally connate, imbricate, often brightly colored, usually short lived. Disk usually absent. Stamens 4-100, free, fascicled, or adnate to petals; filaments linear; anthers 2-loculed, introrse, dehiscence longitudinal. Ovary superior or half-inferior, 1-loculed, 2-5-carpellate; ovules 1 to many, campylotropous; placentation basal or free-central. Style linear; stigma 2-9-lobed. Fruit a thin-walled capsule, circumscissile or 2- or 3-valved, rarely a nut, often globose or subglobose, smooth. Seeds many, reniform or globose, caruncle present or not; endosperm mostly copious, surrounded by embryo.

Herbs or undershrubs, often, succulent; leaves alternate or opposite, with scarious or setose stipular appendages Seeds globose-reniform; embryo surrounding the copious mealy endosperm Flowers actinomorphic, hermaphrodite, solitary or variously cymose or racemose Sepals 2, imbricate, free or united at the base Petals 4–6, imbricate, free or connate at the base, soon falling Stamens as many as and opposite the petals or more numerous, free; anthers 2-celled Ovary superior or half-inferior, 1-celled with basal placenta; ovules 1 to many; style usually variously divided Fruit a capsule dehiscing by valves or by a transverse split (circumscissile), rarely a nut and indehiscent Seeds globose-reniform; embryo surrounding the copious mealy endosperm Flowers actinomorphic, hermaphrodite, solitary or variously cymose or racemose Sepals 2, imbricate, free or united at the base Petals 4–6, imbricate, free or connate at the base, soon falling Stamens as many as and opposite the petals or more numerous, free; anthers 2-celled Ovary superior or half-inferior, 1-celled with basal placenta; ovules 1 to many; style usually variously divided Fruit a capsule dehiscing by valves or by a transverse split (circumscissile), rarely a nut and indehiscent

Inflorescence cymose, sometimes reduced to a solitary axillary flower, or congested into a raceme-like panicle or terminal head of sessile flowers surrounded by an involucre of leaf-like bracts Leaves opposite or alternate, simple, entire; nodal and axillary scales and/or hairs sometimes present Annual or perennial herbs, occasionally soft-wooded shrubs or small trees, usually with most parts rather succulent Sepals 2, slightly unequal, the outer overlapping both margins of the inner, free or basally connate Flowers regular Petals (3–)4–5(–12), free or basally connate, sometimes adnate to the ovary base, usually conspicuous but fugacious Ovary superior or (in Portulaca) partly inferior, with 2–5 carpels, unilocular, placentation free-central or basal, ovules few to many; style simple; stigma capitate or branched Stamens 3–numerous, often adherent to the petals Seeds 1 to many on long persistent funicles, black or brown with a pale aril (in Flora area), often glossy or with a metallic sheen, embryo curved, testa smooth or concentrically ornamented Fruit a capsule, circumscissile or dehiscing longitudinally, rarely indehiscent Leaves opposite or alternate, simple, entire; nodal and axillary scales and/or hairs sometimes present Annual or perennial herbs, occasionally soft-wooded shrubs or small trees, usually with most parts rather succulent Sepals 2, slightly unequal, the outer overlapping both margins of the inner, free or basally connate Flowers regular Petals (3–)4–5(–12), free or basally connate, sometimes adnate to the ovary base, usually conspicuous but fugacious Ovary superior or (in Portulaca) partly inferior, with 2–5 carpels, unilocular, placentation free-central or basal, ovules few to many; style simple; stigma capitate or branched Stamens 3–numerous, often adherent to the petals Seeds 1 to many on long persistent funicles, black or brown with a pale aril (in Flora area), often glossy or with a metallic sheen, embryo curved, testa smooth or concentrically ornamented Fruit a capsule, circumscissile or dehiscing longitudinally, rarely indehiscent

Fls mostly perfect, hypogynous or (Portulaca) semi-epigynous, regular or seldom (spp. of Montia) slightly irregular; sep 2, or seldom (spp. of Lewisia) to 9, persistent or seldom (Talinum) deciduous; pet (2–)4–6 or seldom (spp. of Lewisia) more numerous (to ca 18), distinct or sometimes basally connate, mostly imbricate, often ephemeral; stamens most commonly as many as and opposite the pet, or sometimes (as in Portulaca) more numerous and then sometimes grouped into bundles; filaments free or sometimes basally adnate to the pet or to the short cor-tube; ovary unilocular (often showing vestiges of partitions at the base) mostly composed of 2–3 (to 9 in Portulaca) carpels with as many distinct styles, or seldom (as in Talinum) with a single (then usually lobed or cleft) style; ovules (1)2–many on a free-central or basal placenta; fr usually a loculicidal or circumscissile capsule; seeds commonly lenticular; embryo slender, dicotyledonous, peripheral, ± curved around the abundant perisperm; herbs (all ours) or rarely shrubs, producing betalains but not anthocyanins, often somewhat succulent; lvs simple, entire, opposite or alternate (or all basal); stipules scarious, or modified into tufts of hair, or wanting; fls solitary or more often in various sorts of cymose or racemose or head-like infls. 20/500.

Plantes'herbacées, charnues, rarement sous-arbustives.'Feuilles'en général charnues et pourvues de stipules réduites souvent à des poils axillaires, plus rarement sans stipules ( Talinum ,'Montia ).'Fleurs'☿, réunies en grappes, panicules ou capitules (rarement solitaires), enveloppées dans un involucre de 2 bractées (rarement plus), considérées longtemps comme des sépales; périgone actinomorphe, pétaloïde, souvent très fragile et fugace, à 4-5 segments libres ou soudés à la base; étamines opposées aux segments, le plus souvent nombreuses par dédoublement, parfois en nombre moindre par avortement; ovaire de 2 à 8 carpelles, supère ou semi-infère, 1-loculaire lorsque complètement développé, à placentation basale; ovules campylotropes, ordinairement nombreux.'Fruit': capsule à déhiscence longitudinale ou transversale.'Graines souvent nombreuses, arrondies ou réniformes, albuminées, à embryon ± recourbé.\n\t\t\tPrès de 500 espèces des deux hémisphères, surtout des régions sèches d'Amérique; 3 genres et seulement 9 espèces au Congo belge où elles ne jouent qu'un rôle très effacé, plusieurs présentant un caractère rudéral et adventice.

SELECTED REFERENCES

Applequist, W. L. and R. S. Wallace. 2001. Phylogeny of the portulacaceous cohort based on ndhF sequence data. Syst. Bot. 26: 406-419. Bogle, A. L. 1969. The genera of Portulacaceae and Basellaceae in the southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 50: 566-598. Carolin, R. C. 1987. A review of the family Portulacaceae. Austral. J. Bot. 35: 383-412. Carolin, R. C. 1993. Portulacaceae. In: K. Kubitzki et al., eds. 1990+. The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. 4+ vols. Berlin etc. Vol. 2, pp. 544-555. Hershkovitz, M. A. and E. A. Zimmer. 2000. Ribosomal DNA evidence and disjunctions of western American Portulacaceae. Molec. Phylogen. Evol. 15: 419-439. McNeill, J. 1974. Synopsis of a revised classification of the Portulacaceae. Taxon 23: 725-728. McNeill, J. 1975. A generic revision of Portulacaceae tribe Montieae using techniques of numerical taxonomy. Canad. J. Bot. 53: 789-809. Nilsson, Ö. 1967. Studies in Montia L. and Claytonia L. and allied genera III. Pollen morphology. Grana Palynol., n. s. 7: 279-353. Nyananyo, B. L. 1986. Taxonomic significance of the stomatal complex in the Portulacaceae. Feddes Repert. 97: 763-766. Nyananyo, B. L. 1990. Tribal and generic relationships in the Portulacaceae. Feddes Repert. 101: 237-241. Rydberg, P. A. and P. Wilson. 1932. Portulacaceae. In: N. L. Britton et al., eds. 1905+. North American Flora.... 47+ vols. New York. Vol. 21, pp. 279-336. Swanson, J. R. 1966. A synopsis of relationships in Montioideae (Portulacaceae). Brittonia 18: 229-241.

Subshrubs [shrubs] or herbs, annual, biennial, or perennial, often succulent or fleshy. Leaves opposite, subopposite, or alternate and sometimes secund, sometimes rosulate or subrosulate, exstipulate (except Portulaca and Talinopsis, with nodal or axillary hairs regarded as stipular); blade margins mostly entire, occasionally dentate to crisped. Inflorescences axillary or terminal, cymose, racemose, paniculate, or umbellate, sometimes glomerate, spikelike, or with flowers solitary, open to congested. Flowers mostly radially symmetric, sometimes slightly irregular (in Montia); sepals 2-9; petals (1-)2-19 or sometimes absent, distinct or connate basally; stamens 1-many, opposite and sometimes basally adnate to petals; gynoecium 2-9-carpelled; ovary 1, superior (half-inferior to inferior in Portulaca), 1-locular throughout or initially plurilocular and becoming 1-locular distally (in Portulaca), placentation basal or free-central, ovules 1-many; style present, sometimes branched, or absent; stigmas 1-9. Fruits capsular. Seeds smooth or sculptured, with or without strophioles or elaiosomes. x = 4-9, 11, 13, 15, 23.

Ovary superior or half inferior, 1-locular or partially divided into several loculi near the base; placentation basal; ovules 1-?; style simple or variously divided Stamens as many as the petals or more numerous, free or adnate to the petals Fruit a capsule dehiscing by longitudinal valves or circumscissile, very rarely an indehiscent nutlet Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic, variously racemose, paniculate or cymose or solitary Petals 4–6 (in all African genera), imbricate, free or connate up to half-way or more, often fugacious Sepals 2, imbricate, free or united at the base Leaves sessile or petiolate, opposite or alternate; stipules scarious or modified into many or few hair-like axillary appendages or absent Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, often succulent Stamens as many as the petals or more numerous, free or adnate to the petals Fruit a capsule dehiscing by longitudinal valves or circumscissile, very rarely an indehiscent nutlet Flowers bisexual, actinomorphic, variously racemose, paniculate or cymose or solitary Petals 4–6 (in all African genera), imbricate, free or connate up to half-way or more, often fugacious Sepals 2, imbricate, free or united at the base Leaves sessile or petiolate, opposite or alternate; stipules scarious or modified into many or few hair-like axillary appendages or absent Annual or perennial herbs or shrubs, often succulent