Portulacaria
Encyclopedia
Portulacaria is a plant genus
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Species include:
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
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Species include:
- Portulacaria afraPortulacaria afraPortulacaria afra, also known as Dwarf Jade Plant, Elephant's Food, Elephant Bush, and Spekboom in Afrikaans, is a small-leaved succulent found in South Africa.-Description:...
Jacq. - Portulacaria armiana E. J. Van Jaarsveld
- Portulacaria namaquensis Sond.
- Portulacaria pygmaea Pillans
- Portulacaria oleracea (or Portulaca oleracea), also known as Common PurslanePurslanePurslane may refer to:* Portulacaceae, a family of succulent flowering plants, and especially:** Portulaca oleracea, a species of Portulaca eaten as a vegetable and considered a weed, known as summer purslane...
, Summer Purslane, Verdelagas, Pigweed, Little Hogweed or Pusley, is a succulent with silver dollarTrade dollar-United States:The United States trade dollar is a silver dollar coin that was issued by the United States Mint and minted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Carson City, and San Francisco from 1873 to 1885. Trade dollars intended for circulation were last produced in 1878 while proof coin production...
-sized, Jade PlantJade plantCommonly known as jade plant, friendship tree, lucky plant or Money Plant, Crassula ovata is a succulent plant with small pink or white flowers. It is native to South Africa, and is common as a houseplant worldwide...
-shaped, dark green leaves. It is commonly sold in the southwestern United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as a salad green. Purslane is higher in vitamin E than any other vegetable and contains significant amounts of Vitamins A and C. It normally usesC4 carbon fixationC4 carbon fixation is one of three biochemical mechanisms, along with and CAM photosynthesis, used in carbon fixation. It is named for the 4-carbon molecule present in the first product of carbon fixation in these plants, in contrast to the 3-carbon molecule products in plants. fixation is an...
(or Hatch-Slack) carbon fixation but is also able to switch to CAMCrassulacean acid metabolismCrassulacean acid metabolism, also known as CAM photosynthesis, is a carbon fixation pathway that evolved in some plants as an adaptation to arid conditions. The stomata in the leaves remain shut during the day to reduce evapotranspiration, but open at night to collect carbon dioxide...
carbon fixation when drought stressed.