Portulaca grandiflora & cultivars.
The Mexican rose or Rock rose is a semi-succulent, annual herb.
Plants branch at or near the base and under the right conditions can form thick mats up
to 25 cm wide and 20 cm high.
The alternate leaves, with no petiole are up to 2.5 cm long and a few mms thick.
There are white hairs in the leaf axils.
The terminal inflorescences have an involucre of up to 10 crowded leaves.
The flowers, up to 4 cm across open one at a time with each lasting a few days.
Including cultivars they come in single, semi-double and double flowers.
They can be white or a wide range of pastel colours and some are variegated.
There are some hybrids between P. grandiflora and P. oleracea.
J.F.
