IDENTIFICATION OF MOSS ROSE (Portulaca grandiflora Hook.)

 MOSS ROSE  (Portulaca grandiflora Hook.)

Portulaca grandiflora is a succulent flowering plant in the family Portulacaceae, native to Argentina, southern Brazil, and Uruguay and often cultivated in gardens.It has many common names, including rose moss, ten o'clock, Mexican rose, moss rose, Vietnam Rose, sun rose, rock rose, and moss-rose purslane.

Morphological character

It is a small; plant growing to 30 cm tall. Leaves: thick; leshy; up to 2.5 cm long, arranged alternately or in small clusters. The axillary have few to numerous; whitish; woolly hair; which are usually shorter than the sheets. The compressed inflorescences are surrounded by eight to ten leaves. The large flowers reach a diameter of up to 4 centimetres. The five bright magenta-coloured petals are obovate and 15 to 26 millimeters long. Around the ovary with four to nine whitish scars are about 50 stamens. Capsules and seeds are not visible.

Classification

Kingdom           :           Plantae

Clade                 :           Tracheophytes

Clade                 :           Angiosperms

Clade                 :           Eudicots

Order                 :           Caryophyllales

Family                :           Portulacaceae

Genus                :           Portulaca

Species               :           Portulaca grandiflora Hook.