portulaca
[pawr-chuh-lak-uh, pohr-]
- any of various fleshy-leaved plants of the genus Portulaca, especially P. grandiflora, widely cultivated for its showy, variously colored flowers.
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Origin of portulaca
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for portulaca
Historical Examples
I mean, the portulaca and heliotrope and other old-fashioned plants she dug up for me.
Natalie: A Garden ScoutLillian Elizabeth Roy
No; what I want is a bed of portulaca, and some cypress vines running up strings to the top of a pole.
The leaves are said to contain malic acid in considerable quantity, and have been eaten as salad, like Portulaca.
Pigweed: Portulaca, or the native purslane, a creeping annual of a reddish-green colour and an excellent vegetable.
Journal of Landsborough's Expedition from CarpentariaWilliam Landsborough
This fact was corroborated by the discovery of irritable stamens in Portulaca and Opuntia, and other genera of cactaceæ.
portulaca
- any portulacaceous plant of the genus Portulaca, such as rose moss and purslane, of tropical and subtropical America, having yellow, pink, or purple showy flowers
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Word Origin
C16: from Latin: purslane
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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