General Information

COMMON NAMES: Weedy Pigweed, Purslane, Asian Pigweed; French Purslane TRADITIONAL NAMES: Pōkea ? (RR), Pōkea (AT MK AK), Kātuli (TS), Kāturi (TW), Ongo'ongo ?s (MH) GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Africa - Asia COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; Land, lowlands SIGNIFICANCE LIST: Medicine, Weed; Weed - minor KEY FEATURES: Creeping fleshy herb to 30cm. Profusing branching; leaves oval to 25x15mm. Flowers 2-10 in cluster; yellow; 20mmØ; petals 5 wide-obovate; stamens 7-15. The similar Pacific Pigweed is weakly ascending, usually red-stemmed, with 20-50 stamens.

Cook Islands Distribution

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Southern Group: Present    Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
++++	++++	++++	+++	P	++++			-?

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
+?	P	P	+		P

Portulaca oleracea Linnaeus
TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); MAGNOLIOPSIDA (=Dicotyledones); CARYOPHYLLIDAE; Caryophyllales; PORTULACACEAE

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
POSITIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Medicine, Weed
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Weed - minor. Comments: A minor weed of home gardens and horticultural gardens. Relatively easy to control.

IDENTIFICATION: Creeping herb, to 30cm, usually annual. STEM fleshy to 20cm, profusely branching. LEAVES alternate, fleshy, obovate, to 25x15mm. FLOWERS 2-10 in cluster, yellow, petals obovate to 10mm long, stamens 7-15. FRUIT ovoid, 4mm long.

Vouchers:
Pukapuka: fieldspecimen+photo, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Portulaca oleracea.

References:
p.1072 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.342 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.2/277 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova
p.273 R* Cheeseman - Flora of Rarotonga
p.50 Wilder - Flora of Rarotonga
p.392d Whistler - Ethnobotany of the Cook Islands

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

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