Life Span
Annual
Annual or Biennial
Type
Flowering Plants
Vegetable
Origin
South America
Mexico, Central America
Types
Portulaca grandiflora
Mexican potato,Mexican yam bean
Number of Varieties
50-
0
40000
👆🏻
Habitat
gardens, Roadsides, Waste areas
agricultural areas, Moist Soils, Wet ground
USDA Hardiness Zone
5-119-15
0
99
👆🏻
AHS Heat Zone
12 - 1
12-8
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
H1, H2, 22, 23, 24
Habit
Prostrate/Trailing
Vining/Climbing
Plant Size
Minimum Height
10.20 cm300.00 cm
0
3900
👆🏻
Minimum Width
20.30 cm50.00 cm
0
6350
👆🏻
Plant Color
Flower Color
Red
White, Lavender
Flower Color Modifier
Bicolor
Bicolor
Fruit Color
-
Green, Tan
Leaf Color in Spring
Green
Green
Leaf Color in Summer
Green
Green
Leaf Color in Fall
Green
Green
Leaf Color in Winter
Light Green
Green
Shape
Leaf Shape
Needle like
Heart-shaped
Thorns
✔
✘
✔
✘
Plant Season
Summer, Fall
Summer, Fall
Growing Conditions
Sunlight
Full Sun
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Growth Rate
Very Fast
Fast
Type of Soil
Loam, Sand
Loam, Sand
The pH of Soil
Neutral, Alkaline
Acidic, Neutral
Soil Drainage
Well drained
Well drained
Bloom Time
Indeterminate
Early Summer, Summer
Repeat Bloomer
✔
✘
✔
✘
Tolerances
Drought, Heat Tolerance
Dry soil, Shallow soil
Where to Plant?
Container, Ground, Pot
Ground
How to Plant?
Seedlings
From bulbs
Plant Maintenance
Low
Medium
Watering Plants
Watering Requirements
Average Water Needs
Keep ground moist
In Summer
Lots of watering
Average Water
In Spring
Moderate
Moderate
In Winter
Average Water
Moderate
Soil
Soil pH
Acidic, Neutral, Slightly Acidic
Acidic, Neutral
Soil Type
Well drained
Loam, Sand
Soil Drainage Capacity
Well drained
Well drained
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Full Sun, Partial Sun
Pruning
Remove damaged leaves, Remove dead branches, Remove dead leaves, Shearing
Remove damaged leaves, Remove dead branches, Remove dead leaves
Fertilizers
Requires high amount of nitrogen
All-Purpose Liquid Fertilizer
Pests and Diseases
Aphids, Botrytis Blight, Brown Spots, Gray mold, Root rot, Stem rot
Beetles, Leaf spot, Red blotch
Plant Tolerance
Drought, Heat Tolerance
Shade areas, Shallow soil
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
Coarse
Foliage Sheen
Matte
Glossy
Evergreen
✔
✘
✔
✘
Invasive
✔
✘
✔
✘
Self-Sowing
✔
✘
✔
✘
Attracts
Butterflies
Butterflies, Mice
Allergy
-
Irritation to stomach, Itchiness
Uses
Aesthetic Uses
Beautification, Bouquets, Cottage Garden, Ground Cover, Showy Purposes
-
Beauty Benefits
Skin Problems
Improve skin tone
Edible Uses
✔
✘
✔
✘
Environmental Uses
Air purification
Food for animals, Soil protection
Plant Benefits
Medicinal Uses
Depurative, Insect Bites, Liver problems, Snakebite, Swelling
Cold, Fever, Inflammation
Part of Plant Used
Flowers, Leaves, Stem, Whole plant
Bulbs, Root
Other Uses
Showy Purposes, Used As Food, Used for its medicinal properties
Used As Food
Used As Indoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Used As Outdoor Plant
✔
✘
✔
✘
Garden Design
Cottage garden, Edible
Edible, Herb, Vegetable, Tropical, Vine
Botanical Name
PORTULACA grandiflora
PACHYRHIZUS erosus
Common Name
Moss Rose, Portulaca, Sundial Scarlet Portulaca
Mexican Yam bean
In Hindi
Portulaca
Pachyrhizus erosus
In German
Portulak
Yambohne
In French
portulaca
Kłębian kątowaty
In Spanish
Portulaca
Pachyrhizus erosus
In Greek
Portulaca
Pachyrhizus erosus
In Portuguese
Portulaca
Pachyrhizus erosus
In Polish
Portulaca
Pachyrhizus erosus
In Latin
Portulaca
Pachyrhizus erosus
Kingdom
Plantae
Plantae
Phylum
Magnoliophyta
Angiosperms
Class
Magnoliopsida
Eudicotyledones
Order
Caryophyllales
Fabales
Family
Portulacaceae
Fabaceae
Genus
Portulaca
Pachyrhizus
Clade
Angiosperms, Core eudicots, Eudicots
Angiosperms
Tribe
-
-
Subfamily
-
-
Number of Species
1100
1
27800
👆🏻