Common Purslane
Portulaca oleracea
—
Not native
Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 65%
- Height
- 1–2 inches
- Spread
- 6 inches–1.5 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Dry to average
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
Not yet recorded · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 69 Virginia counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
14CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Portulaca
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Anarta trifoliiThe Nutmeg, Clover Cutworm
- Anicla infectaGreen Cutworm Moth
- Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
- Euxoa messoriaReaper Dart, Darksided Cutworm, Dark-Sided Cutworm
- Euxoa tessellataTessellate Dart, Striped Cutworm
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Nomophila nearcticaLucerne Moth, American Celery Webworm
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
Show all 14
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
- Coleophora texanella
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist 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
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Portulacaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 2a–11b
- Flower color
- Yellow
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Hardiness · “Zones 2a–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
- Height · “1–2 inches” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
- primary_flower_color · “yellow” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder differs)
- Spread · “6 inches–1.5 feet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GU |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Native alternatives
Find natives for your gardenSources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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