Silk Cotton Purslane

Portulaca halimoides L. is a member of the Portulacaceae family, found in arid regions of the southwestern U.S., northern Mexico, and parts of Central and South America. This fleshy, annual herb has a sprawling stem, reaching up to 25 cm in length, often colored pink or red. The plant features woolly, hair-like trichomes along the stem nodes and in the inflorescence. The leaves are thick, cylindrical, and blunt-tipped, measuring up to 2 cm in length, with a color range from green to red. Flowers appear in clusters of up to 10 at the stem tips, each with yellow petals and two fused, fleshy red sepals. The fruit is a small capsule containing multiple seeds, which are typically black, grayish, or silvery in color.