Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Lythrum portula

Other names

Peplis portula

Family

Lythraceae

Flowering season

June to October

English distribution

It is found throughout the country but is much less

common in parts of East Anglia, the Midlands and

the Northeast.

See the BSBI distribution map for Water-purslane

Habitat

It grows on acidic soils on mud at the edge of water

bodies, ditches, puddle rutted tracks and heathland

ponds.

The pictures shown here were taken in West Dorset

from ponds and a seep on hill-top heaths on Pislden

Pen and the Valley of the Stones.

Description

Water-purslane is a native, annual, spreading, prostrate

herb growing up to 25cm.

The flowers are in the axils of the leaves and are small

- 1mm.

There are 0 to 6 pink petals. Mostly, they have no petals.

There are 6 stamens

There is a bottle-shaped style and a capitate stigma.

The calyx is almost conical, with 6 membranous, fused and

pointed sepals.

Fruits are a globular capsule with numerous seeds.

Leaves are up to 2 cm, opposite, fleshy and racket-shaped

(spathulate).

The stems are slightly angular, branched, variously green

or red, and rooted at the nodes.

The overall appearence of Water-purslane en masse

depends on its location.

In the permanent pond at the Valley of the Stones it

was dark green, on the summer-drying pond on the

plateau of the Iron-Age Fort on Pilsden Pen, it was

mainly red, and on the seep on the ramparts of

Pilsden Pen, it was a bright, light green.