Arvenses technical sheet: Portulaca oleracea

Dear readers, socializing with you another installment of the series theme called technical sheet of weed, in this opportunity we will describe a plant that is considered weeds by some farmers, but other grown in countries such as Mexico, that's because it is considered as a medicinal plant, edible and agricultural use to the supply of some species of animals of which we will discuss later in this manuscript. Let's get started!

- Origin of the name : the scientific name of the plant is the Portulaca oleracea, according to the references consulted the name of the plant has the following meanings Portulaca: probably derived from the Portuguese word “portula” tiny door. Oleracea: from the Latin "olera" = vegetable, it is considered that it was cultivated as a vegetable.by the Egyptians. On the other hand, the common or vulgar name by which it is known is Purslane.

-Description eco-biological: the structure succulent plant allows it to overcome adverse conditions related to the drought, according to Torres, and Torres (2020), have a metabolism evolved a mixture of C4 and CAM, which makes them more efficient photosynthetically in comparison with C3 plants, and in addition, in adverse conditions get the carbon dioxide they need for the evening store and perform photosynthesis in the day, this reverse process do this to avoid opening the stomata of their leaves in the day and lose water. It also adapts to alkaline and saline pH soils.

-Morphological description: Taproot with many fibrous secondary roots. Stem thick, fleshy, creeping to ascending, very branched, often green, red or purple with few short hairs in the axils of the leaves. Leaves alternate to almost opposite, whole without petioles, with entire edges, the bundle dark green and the underside greyish whitish, 2 to 4 cm long. Flowers open them only on sunny mornings, they have 5 yellow petals from 3 to 10 mm wide, small seeds 0.5 mm in diameter, dark to black in color.

The plant as can be seen in the photographs is herbaceous stem, succulent, creeping, prostrate, 0.10 to 0.50 cm long, they grow forming dense isolated groups and propagates by seeds.

- Multipurpose: According to certain researches, purslane is a functional food, due to its nutritional properties that benefit the cardiovascular system among other favorable aspects thanks to the presence of unsaturated fatty acids and vitamins. On the other hand, it is also used for feeding rabbits, according to Abaza et al. (2010), rabbits fed with purslane have better body weight and better growth rate, it is said that it can be the replacement of soy in the diet of these species.

Dear readers, the species that was described proliferates in the ecosystems of the south of Lake Maracaibo Venezuela, in tropical conditions, loamy soils and has a good distribution since, not only they grow on cultivated surfaces but also on roadsides and in urban areas. On forage surfaces it is not considered a harmful plant, although as we have always commented everything depends on the management of the pastures, if it is efficient a good coverage will always be maintained to compete with the plants that proliferate to its surroundings. We hope that the information will be useful and that it will allow you to identify this species in your geographical area.