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 at 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.