''Portulaca grandiflora'' is a

succulent In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants t ...

in the family

Portulacaceae The Portulacaceae are a family of flowering plants, comprising 115 species in a single genus '' Portulaca''. Formerly some 20 genera with about 500 species, were placed there, but it is now restricted to encompass only one genus, the other genera ...

, native to southern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

, and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and often cultivated in gardens.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan . It has many

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

s, including rose moss, eleven o'clock, Mexican rose, moss rose, sun rose, rock rose, and moss-rose purslane. It is also seen in South Asia and widely spread in most of the cities with old 18th- and 19th-century architecture in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

Description

It is a small, but fast-growing

annual plant An annual plant is a plant that completes its life cycle, from germination to the production of seeds, within one growing season, and then dies. The length of growing seasons and period in which they take place vary according to geographical ...

growing to 30 cm tall, though usually less. However, if it is cultivated properly, it can easily reach this height. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

are thick and fleshy, up to 2.5 cm long, arranged alternately or in small clusters. The

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanis ...

s are 2.5–3 cm diameter with five petals, variably red, orange, pink, white, and yellow. Their upright, or ascending, long shoots branch usually near the base. The spreading 20-to-25-millimeters-long and 2-to-3-millimeters-wide leaves are almost or completely stalk-shaped, and taper towards the tip. The axillary leaves have few to numerous whitish, woolly hairs which are usually shorter than the sheets. The compressed

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are forme ...

s are surrounded by eight to ten leaves. The large flowers reach a diameter of up to 4 centimetres. The five bright

magenta Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish- red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and blu ...

-coloured petals are

obovate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

and 15 to 26 millimeters long. Around the

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

with four to nine whitish scars are about 50

stamens The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

. Capsules and

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...

s are not visible. ''P. grandiflora'' is one of the few plants that is a /CAM intermediate, utilizing both carbon fixation and

Crassulacean acid metabolism Crassulacean acid metabolism, also known as CAM photosynthesis, is a carbon fixation pathway that evolved in some plants as an adaptation to arid conditions that allows a plant to photosynthesize during the day, but only exchange gases at night. ...

pathways in different cells for photosynthesis.

Cultivation and uses

Numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s have been selected for double flowers with additional petals, and for variation in flower colour, plain or variegated. It is widely grown in temperate climates as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

for annual bedding or as a container plant. It requires ample sunlight and well-drained soils. It requires almost no attention and spreads itself very easily. In places with old architecture it can grow between the stones of the road or sidewalk. Seeds are often sold as mixtures, such as ''Double Flowering Mixture'' (see illustrations). It grows on sandy soils. In countries with a frost-free climate, it is wild. Unlike '' P. oleracea'' and '' P. umbraticola'' , it is not edible because of its bitter taste. There are hybrids of ''P. grandiflora'' with ''P. oleracea'', ''umbraticola'' and ''villosa''. It is visited by

honeybees A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the current c ...

for its

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametop ...

and

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualist ...

Gallery

File:PortulacaGrandiflora.jpg, ''Portulaca Grandiflora'' in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

File:Portulaca in Kadavoor.jpg, ''Portulaca Grandiflora'' bicolour File:Portulaca grandiflora at Kadavoor.jpg, ''Portulaca grandiflora'' in

File:Mexican Rose.jpg, ''Portulaca grandiflora'' in

, which is in a tob Image:Portulaca.jpg, Traditional

ian sort of ''Portulaca grandiflora'' Image:Portulaca grandiflora2 ies.jpg, ''Portulaca grandiflora'' double flower variety Image:Portulaca grandiflora4.jpg, Mixed ''Portulaca grandiflora'' growth Image:Whitekt-2.jpg, Portulaca Grandiflora white variety in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

File:Portulaca grandiflora 26032014.jpg, Single leaves. File:松葉牡丹 20190406201310.jpg, Portulaca grandiflora. 2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition, Taiwan. File:松葉牡丹 20191005155847.jpg, Cultivar with double flowers

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q159547 grandiflora Flora of South America