Redstem Purslane
Portulaca rubricaulis
Found in Coastal grasslands, beaches, coastal rock barrens, shell middens, and strands. 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?
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At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 7 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.
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
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
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
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| 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
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition
- 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