Chickenweed (Portulaca quadrifida)
Description
Chicken weed is an annual herb. Stems articulated, prostrate, rooting at nodes; leaf axils patent pilose. Leaves opposite; petiole absent; leaf blade flat, ovate, obovate, or ovate-elliptic, 4-8 - 2-5 mm, slightly narrowed toward base, apex obtuse or acute. Flowers solitary, surrounded by involucre of 4 or 5 bracts, white pilose. Sepals obovate-oblong, 2.5-3 mm, membranous, veined. Petals 4, yellow, oblong or broadly elliptic, 3-6 mm, connate at base, apex mucronate. Stamens 8-10. The plants are used for medicinal purposes. In Rajasthan, the leaves, after boiling, are used in preparing a bread by mixing with Bajra. In Tamil Nadu, leaves and tender shoots cooked and eaten as greens.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Caryophyllales
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Family: Portulacaceae
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Genus: Portulaca
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