Portulaca quadrifida

{{Short description|Species of plant in the genus Portulaca}}

{{Speciesbox

|image=Portulaca quadrifida-1-yercaud-salem-India.JPG

|image_caption=

|genus=Portulaca

|species=quadrifida

|authority=L.Mant. Pl.: 73 (1767)

|synonyms_ref=

|synonyms={{collapsible list|

• Illecebrum verticillatum Burm.f.
• Meridiana elliptica Poir.
• Meridiana quadrifida (L.) Poir.
• Portulaca chariensis A.Chev.
• Portulaca diptera Zipp. ex Span.
• Portulaca elatinoides A.Chev.
• Portulaca geniculata Royle
• Portulaca imbricata Forssk.
• Portulaca linifolia Forssk.
• Portulaca meridiana L.f.
• Portulaca microphylla A.Rich.
• Portulaca parensis Poelln.
• Portulaca pseudoquadrifida Poelln.
• Portulaca rediviva Wawra
• Portulaca repens Roxb. ex Wight & Arn.
• Portulaca rubens A.Chev.
• Portulaca squarrosa Peter
• Portulaca walteriana Poelln.

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Portulaca quadrifida, known as pusley, wild purslane, chicken weed (or chickenweed), single{{nbh}}flowered purslane, small{{nbh}}leaved purslane and 10 o'clock plant, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Portulaca, possibly native to Africa, but certainly widespread over the Old World Tropics, and introduced elsewhere.{{cite web |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:699334-1 |title=Portulaca quadrifida L. |author= |date=2017 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=9 November 2020 }} It is collected in the wild and eaten in salads or cooked, and is a favorite fodder for chickens and pigs.{{cite book |title=Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2: Vegetables |last1=Grubben |first1=G. J. H. |year=2004 |publisher=PROTA Foundation |page=429 |isbn=9789057821479}}

File:Illustrations of Indian Botany, Vol. 2 (page 96 crop).jpg