Description:

• Annual, biennial or perennial herbs, sometimes with thickened, ± woody, short, basal stems, occasionally soft-wooded shrubs or undershrubs, rarely small trees, often with most parts rather succulent; rarely dioecious
• Leaves opposite or alternate, simple, usually with entire margins, glabrous or with glandular, barbulate or simple hairs; stipules 0 or leaf axils with hairs, spines, bristles or scales, often interpreted as stipules
• Inflorescences variously cymose and terminal, rarely raceme-like paniculate, or terminal heads of sessile flowers surrounded by an involucre of leaves, occasionally reduced to solitary axillary flowers
• Flowers bisexual or occasionally unisexual, usually regular
• Sepals 2(3), usually unequal, imbricate, deciduous or rarely persistent, free or occasionally adnate to base of ovary
• Petals (2-4)5(-15), imbricate, free or sometimes connate near base, ephemeral, fugacious or persistent, sometimes accrescent
• Stamens (3)4-many, often as many as petals, hypogynous, perigynous or sometimes epigynous, free from each other but sometimes adnate to petals at base, or sometimes epipetalous; anthers basifixed, opening through longitudinal slits, sometimes staminodal
• Ovary superior, rarely half-inferior, with 2-5 carpels but 1 locule and basal or free-central placentation at maturity; ovules 1-many, often on long funicles; stigmas 2-5(-8), free or connate into a style
• Fruit a capsule dehiscing through 3-5(-8) terminal valves or circumscissile, sometimes with epicarp and endocarp separating and sometimes with epicarp deciduous; sometimes a nut which may dehisce irregularly near base
• Seeds sometimes arillate and aril sometimes enveloping seed, sometimes compressed and rarely winged, shiny or granulated, with or without appendages; testa usually hard and crustaceous; endosperm rudimentary; perisperm usually present and often abundant; embryo ± curved almost into a circle

Nomenclature:

• Portulacaceae
  • Jussieu: 312 (1789)
  • Candolle: 354 (1828)
  • Fenzl: 946 (1839)
  • Bentham: 155 (1862)
  • Pax: 51 (1889)
  • Franz: 1 (1908)
  • Pax & Hoffmann: 234 (1934)
  • MacNeill: 725 (1974)
  • Nyananyo: 237 (1990)
  • Carolin: 544 (1993)
  • Gilbert: 120 (1993)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Genera ± 30, species ± 450, largely a southern hemisphere family (Africa, Madagascar, Asia, Australia, New Zealand) extending into North America but poorly represented in Eurasia; some species widespread weeds
• Southern Africa: Genera 7 (1 exotic), species 46 (3 exotic)

References:

• BENTHAM, G. 1862. Portulaceae. In G. Bentham & J.D. Hooker, Genera plantarum 1. Lovell Reeve & Co., London
• CANDOLLE, A.P. DE. 1828. Portulaceae. Prodromus 3. Treuttel & Würtz, Paris
• CAROLIN, R.C. 1993. Portulacaceae. In K. Kubitzki, J.G. Rohwer & V. Bittrich, The families and genera of vascular plants - dicotyledons 2. Springer-Verlag, Berlin
• FENZL, E. 1839. Ordo Portulacaceae. In S.L. Endlicher, Genera plantarum secundum ordines naturales disposita 2. Beck, Vienna
• FRANZ, E. 1908. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Portulacaceen und Basellaceen. Botanische Jahrbücher 42, Beiblatt 97
• GILBERT, M.G. 1993. Portulacaceae. Flora of Somalia 1
• JUSSIEU, A.L. DE. 1789. Portulaceae, les Portulacées. Genera plantarum secundum ordines naturales disposita. Herissant & Barrois, Paris
• MCNEILL, J. 1974. Synopsis of a revised classification of the Portulacaceae. Taxon 23
• NYANANYO, B.L. 1990. Tribal and generic relationship in the Portulacaceae (Centrospermae). Feddes Repertorium 101
• PAX, F. 1889. Portulacaceae. Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien 3,1b
• PAX, F. & HOFFMANN, K. 1934. Portulacaceae. Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien, edn 2,16c

Resources:

• Key to Portulacaceae genera

• Portulacaceae genera: