ABSTRACT
AA Portulaca oleracea L. is an annual succulent semiprostrate herb that reproduces by seed. Flowering starts 3 to 4 weeks after germination and seeds mature about 2 weeks after flowering. The fruit is a globular one-celled, dry capsule containing many small seeds, dehiscing with a transverse lid. Micro-and macrosporogenesis and embryo development have been studied in detail. Purslane flowers and seeds were produced under 16-hr photoperiods of red, blue, and green light of intensities of 7.4 and 12 W/m2, but few flowers and no seeds were produced in yellow light. The increase in flower production obtained by prolonging the daylength with high light intensities was probably due to an overall increase in plant growth. The tolerance of the flowering response in P. oleracea to wide variations in day length, light intensity, and temperature is undoubtedly one of the factors behind its success as a weed, and its wide distribution over the world.
