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Trianthema portulacastrum
Also called Desert Horse-Purslane, Horse purslane, Black Pigweed, Giant Pigweed, Carpet Weed
Desert horsepurslane is a fleshy annual herb that forms a low mat or clump and grows as a weed in disturbed and cultivated ground across the tropics and subtropics. It thrives in hot, dry conditions with little care.
Trianthema portulacastrum is a species of flowering plant in the ice plant family known by the common names desert horsepurslane, black pigweed, and giant pigweed. It is native to areas of several continents, including Africa and North and South America, and present as an introduced species in many other areas. It grows in a wide variety of habitat types and it can easily take hold in disturbed areas and cultivated land as a weed.
This species is a host plant for the beet leafhopper (Circulifer tenellus).
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Trianthema portulacastrum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
