Water Purslane

Also called Common Purslane or Pigweed / Red Pigweed

Family: Portulacaceae (The Purslane Family or some list it as the Lythraceae or Purple Loosestrife Family)

Genus: Portulaca | Species: oleracea

Notes: This is a sprawling plant with smooth, fleshy, reddish stems; Possesses a taproot with secondary roots that are described as fibrous; Dense mats of the plant can occur, preventing the growth of other plants; Can tolerate poor, compacted soils; flowers are small (scarcely 0.1″ wide) and pale yellow, and are solitary or in small rounded clusters;  Seeds are formed in a tiny pod or capsule that is 3 – 6 mm long, which opens and breaks off once the seeds are mature, releasing numerous red/brown or black seeds. [perennial]

Habitat: Cultivated and waste ground; especially common in irrigated crops, cultivated fields, and along roads and river banks. It is a difficult weed to control, particularly due to its vegetative reproductive ability.

In Bloom: June – November (depending upon rainfall, and they are said to open singly at the center of the leaf cluster for only a few hours on sunny mornings)