Flower and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, Sturt National Park, NE of Tibooburra, NSW

Flowering plant. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, Sturt National Park, NE of Tibooburra, NSW

Plant. Australian Plant Image Index, photo: Murray Fagg, near Murrumbidgee River, ACT

Flowering plant. Photo: Julio Reis, Portugal

Common Name

Pigweed, Munyeroo, Purslane, Common Pigweed

Family

Portulacaceae

Notes

Annual or sometimes perennial forb, prostrate to sprawling or to 25cm tall. Succulent stems and leaves. Leaves spiralling along the stems to almost opposite each other, 1-2.5cm long, 6-15mm wide, flat, hairless, tips blunt, sometimes notched. Flowers yellow, with 4-6 petals, in clusters of 1-30 flowers at the bases of the leaves.

Differs from Portulaca intraterranea in that the petals are 4-7mm long, and scarcely exceeding the sepals.

Description and photo in G.M. Cunningham, WE Mulham, PL Milthorpe and J H Leigh (1981 and later printings) Plants of Western New South Wales page 300

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Portulaca~oleracea