Life Span
Annual
Perennial
Type
Flowering Plants
Bulb or Corm or Tuber
Origin
South America
Southern Africa, South Africa
Types
Portulaca grandiflora
Ornithogalum thyrsoides
Number of Varieties
5025
0
40000
👆🏻
Habitat
gardens, Roadsides, Waste areas
marshes, Sandy flats, Slopes
USDA Hardiness Zone
5-117-10
0
99
👆🏻
AHS Heat Zone
12 - 1
10-7
Sunset Zone
A1, A2, A3, H1, H2, 1a, 1b, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
21,22
Habit
Prostrate/Trailing
Clump-Forming
Plant Size
Minimum Height
10.20 cm20.30 cm
0
3900
👆🏻
Minimum Width
20.30 cm15.20 cm
0
6350
👆🏻
Plant Color
Flower Color
Red
Orange, Gold
Flower Color Modifier
Bicolor
Bicolor
Fruit Color
-
-
Leaf Color in Spring
Green
Green, Blue Green, Yellow green
Leaf Color in Summer
Green
Light Green
Leaf Color in Fall
Green
Several shades of Green
Leaf Color in Winter
Light Green
Light Green
Shape
Leaf Shape
Needle like
Succulent
Thorns
✔
✘
✔
✘
Plant Season
Summer, Fall
Spring, Winter
Growing Conditions
Sunlight
Full Sun
Full Sun, Partial Sun, Partial shade
Growth Rate
Very Fast
-
Type of Soil
Loam, Sand
Clay, Loam, Sand
The pH of Soil
Neutral, Alkaline
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Soil Drainage
Well drained
Well drained
Bloom Time
Indeterminate
Early Spring, Spring, Winter, Late Winter
Repeat Bloomer
✔
✘
✔
✘
Tolerances
Drought, Heat Tolerance
Drought
Where to Plant?
Container, Ground, Pot
Container, Ground
How to Plant?
Seedlings
Bulbs, Seedlings
Plant Maintenance
Low
Medium
Watering Plants
Watering Requirements
Average Water Needs
Keep ground moist, Reduce watering in winter, Water three times weekly in summer
In Summer
Lots of watering
Lots of watering
In Spring
Moderate
Moderate
In Winter
Average Water
Average Water
Soil
Soil pH
Acidic, Neutral, Slightly Acidic
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Soil Type
Well drained
Clay, Loam, Sand
Soil Drainage Capacity
Well drained
Well drained
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Full Sun, Partial Sun, Partial shade
Pruning
Remove damaged leaves, Remove dead branches, Remove dead leaves, Shearing
Prune to control growth, prune to control shape, Prune to stimulate growth
Fertilizers
Requires high amount of nitrogen
All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer
Pests and Diseases
Aphids, Botrytis Blight, Brown Spots, Gray mold, Root rot, Stem rot
-
Plant Tolerance
Drought, Heat Tolerance
Drought
Flowers
Showy
Showy
Flower Petal Number
Semi-Double
Single
Fruits
Showy Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Edible Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrance
Fragrant Flower
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Fruit
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Leaf
✔
✘
✔
✘
Fragrant Bark/Stem
✔
✘
✔
✘
Showy Foliage
✔
✘
✔
✘
Showy Bark
✔
✘
✔
✘
Foliage Texture
Fine
Medium
Foliage Sheen
Matte
Glossy
Evergreen
✔
✘
✔
✘
Invasive
✔
✘
✔
✘
Self-Sowing
✔
✘
✔
✘
Attracts
Butterflies
Butterflies, Insects, pollinators
Allergy
-
Skin irritation, Skin rash, Toxic
Uses
Aesthetic Uses
Beautification, Bouquets, Cottage Garden, Ground Cover, Showy Purposes
Beautification, Cut Flowers, Showy Purposes, Used as an interior landscaping species, Used for decorating walls, fences, gates, hedges, etc.
Beauty Benefits
Skin Problems
-
Edible Uses
✔
✘
✔
✘
Environmental Uses
Air purification
Air purification
Plant Benefits
Medicinal Uses
Depurative, Insect Bites, Liver problems, Snakebite, Swelling
-
Part of Plant Used
Flowers, Leaves, Stem, Whole plant
Flowers
Other Uses
Showy Purposes, Used As Food, Used for its medicinal properties
Beneficial species for attracting pollinators, Showy Purposes, Used as Ornamental plant, Used for Landscaping
Used As Indoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Used As Outdoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Garden Design
Cottage garden, Edible
Container, Cutflower, Mixed Border, Rock Garden / Wall
Botanical Name
PORTULACA grandiflora
Ornithogalum thyrsoides
Common Name
Moss Rose, Portulaca, Sundial Scarlet Portulaca
Chincherinchee, Wonder-flower, Star-of-Bethlehem
In Hindi
Portulaca
Chincherinchee
In German
Portulak
Kap-Milchstern
In French
portulaca
Chincherinchee
In Spanish
Portulaca
Chincherinchee
In Greek
Portulaca
Ornithogalum thyrsoides
In Portuguese
Portulaca
Chinkerinchee
In Polish
Portulaca
Chincherinchee,
In Latin
Portulaca
Chincherinchee
Kingdom
Plantae
Plantae
Phylum
Magnoliophyta
Magnoliophyta
Class
Magnoliopsida
Liliopsida
Order
Caryophyllales
Asparagales
Family
Portulacaceae
Asparagaceae
Genus
Portulaca
Ornithogalum
Clade
Angiosperms, Core eudicots, Eudicots
Angiosperms, Monocots
Tribe
-
Ornithogaleae
Subfamily
-
Scilloideae
Number of Species
1180
1
27800
👆🏻