2,455
edits
Changes
no edit summary
{{Inc|
Portulaca oleracea, Linn. Purslane. Pusley. Fig. 3151. A common trailing weed in sandy ground, but also cult, in improved strains as a pot-herb: lvs. small, spatulate or narrow-obovate, very obtuse, thick, dull green or reddish: fls. small, yellow, the 7-12 stamens sensitive to a touch. Widely distributed in many countries; probably native to the southwestern parts of the U. S., but it is considered that it is intro. into the E. and N. In sandy and loamy soils it is one of the commonest and most persistent of weeds, but it is little known on heavy lands. The common wild plant is prized for "greens" in some regions, but the French upright forms are much better, as they are larger and more tender; these improved varieties look very different from the common "pusley;" they are easy of cult. For a discussion of the nativity of purslane in N. Amer., see Gray & Trumbull, Amer. Jour. Sci. 25, p. 253.
L.H. B.
}}
{{Taxobox
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| color = lightgreen