Pink Purslane
Portulaca pilosa
Found in disturbed sandy soils, calcareous glades. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Light
- Partial shade, Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to wet

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- May to October
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves
Height: NC species account not read yet.
Spread and leaves: no source found yet.
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 60 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Who uses this plant?
19CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Portulaca
- Aetole bellaBeautiful Sunspur
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Agrotis malefidaRascal Dart, Pale-Sided Cut-Worm, Shagreened Cut-Worm
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
- Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
- Feltia repletaReplete Dart
- Hellula rogatalisCabbage Webworm
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Nomophila nearcticaLucerne Moth, American Celery Webworm
Show all 19
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
- Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
- Strymon istapaMallow Scrub-Hairstreak, Dotted Hairstreak; Modest Hairstreak, [Columella Hairstreak : former mis-applied name]
- Achyra bifidalis
- Aetole schulzella
- Coleophora texanella
7BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Portulaca
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
7BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Portulaca
- Acanthis flammeaCommon Redpoll
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Cyrtonyx montezumaeMontezuma Quail
- Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Portulacaceae
- Flower color
- Red, pink or purple
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Red, pink or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Annual” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Partial shade; Full sun (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as
Kiss Me Quick
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

