African Purslane

Names and Synonyms

Common Names

• African Purslane

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Rocama digyna
• Rocama prostrata
• Limeum kenyense
• Zaleya sennii
• Rocama arabica
• Trianthema sennii
• Trianthema pentandrum

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant, Zaleya pentandra, belongs to the kingdom Plantae and is classified within the phylum Streptophyta. It falls under the class Equisetopsida and the subclass Magnoliidae, specifically within the order Caryophyllales. Ultimately, it is a member of the family Aizoaceae and the genus Zaleya.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant exhibits a wide geographical distribution across several distinct regions of the African continent. Within Northern Africa, its presence is documented in the countries of Algeria, Egypt, and Libya. The species also extends its range into the Macaronesian islands, specifically found in Cape Verde. Furthermore, it can be located within West Tropical Africa, specifically in Burkina Faso. This varied distribution highlights the plant's ability to inhabit diverse ecological zones across the continent.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Ecology

The ecology of Zaleya pentandra is characterized by its broad adaptability to diverse landscapes and varying altitudes. This species thrives across an elevational range spanning from 30 m to 1250 m AMSL, allowing it to inhabit a variety of topographical zones. It is commonly found in open places within woodland, bushland, and grassland ecosystems. Furthermore, the plant demonstrates significant resilience and opportunistic growth patterns, often acting as a weed in disturbed environments such as overgrazed areas, waste places, roadsides, and cultivated ground.

Elevational range max:

1250 m AMSL

Elevational range min:

30 m AMSL

Habitat :

open places in woodland, bushland and grassland, also a weed of overgrazed and waste placesroadsides and cultivated ground

Life history

The life history of Zaleya pentandra is characterized by a perennial lifecycle, allowing the plant to persist through multiple growing seasons. In terms of its growth habit and survival strategy, it is classified as a cryptophyte, meaning its perennable buds are located below the soil surface to protect them from unfavorable environmental conditions. Additionally, the species exhibits a therophyte life form, a strategy where the plant completes its vegetative growth and relies on specific survival mechanisms to endure periods of dormancy or stress.

Life form :

therophyte

Life form :

cryptophyte

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Zaleya pentandra is characterized by a low-growing, herbaceous growth form, categorized both as a herb and a forb. It is a non-woody plant that reaches a mean height of 0.2 m, with a maximum potential height of 0.5 m. This species is terrestrial in nature, functioning as an independent organism rather than a parasite or an epiphyte, and it is a self-supporting plant that does not exhibit climbing habits.

Aquatic :

terrestrial

Climber :

self-supporting

Epiphyte :

terrestrial

Growth form :

herb

Parasite :

independent

Plant height max:

0.5 m

Plant height mean:

0.2 m

Woodiness :

non-woody

Physiology

The physiology of Zaleya pentandra is characterized by a specialized metabolic framework, most notably utilizing a C4 photosynthetic pathway to optimize carbon fixation and enhance water-use efficiency in its environment. This specialized pathway allows the plant to concentrate carbon dioxide around the enzyme RuBisCO, effectively minimizing photorespiration. In terms of nutrient cycling and symbiotic relationships, the plant does not function as a nitrogen fixer, meaning it lacks the biological mechanisms or symbiotic associations required to convert atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form for its growth.

Nitrogen fixer :

no

Photosynthetic pathway :

C4

Reproduction

The reproduction of Zaleya pentandra is characterized by a highly flexible flowering phenology and the production of minute seeds. The plant exhibits a broad flowering window that can vary significantly, with the flowering period typically starting in December and concluding in March, though the presence of flowers is variable across all months of the year, including January, February, and through to November. Following pollination, the plant produces small seeds with a mean mass of approximately 0.001815 g. These seeds show slight variations in weight, with a minimum recorded seed mass of 0.00087 g and a maximum reaching 0.00249 g.

Flowering time :

Dec

Flowering time :

Mar

Seed mass max:

0.00249 g

Seed mass mean:

0.001815 g

Seed mass min:

0.00087 g

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Chemicals

Zaleya pentandra has 2 reported phytochemicals identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include Flavonoid, Terpenoid.

Flavonoid

1. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association

Terpenoid

1. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association

Activities

Zaleya pentandra has 1 reported activities identified across 0 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antioxidant.

Antioxidant

1. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association

Preparations