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THE GENUS PORTULACA IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS 
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Benjamin C. Stone 
College of Guam, Agana, Guam, U.S.A. 
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In the summer of 1959 while conducting a general botanical 
survey of an area in the southern part of the Puna District, Island 
of Hawaii, the writer observed several species of Portulaca. Collec¬ 
tions indicated that several new records of distribution were at hand. 
The general report of this survey, made by the Bishop Museum for 
the National Park Service, was a mimeographed volume of limited 
distribution, in which there was presented in addition to the vege¬ 
tative features of the Kalapana region, certain critical notes on 
various species, including the Portulacaceae. Seeds and cuttings 
of one of the species ( Portulaca cyanosperma Egler) were brought 
to Honolulu, where they were grown at the writer’s residence. 
From the new growth it was possible to note certain differences in 
aspect from the wild plants in Puna. Increasing interest in the 
group of Hawaiian species led to a study of museum specimens. 
These species were then studied with reference to the subdivisions 
of the genus as recently proposed by Diego Legrand (1953, 1958). 
The results of these studies are embodied here, with a synopsis of 
the Hawaiian species, including brief descriptions and a key. No 
new taxa are proposed. Ideally every species should be seen in 
life, either in a natural habitat or cultivated, since herbarium speci¬ 
mens of these fleshy plants are in general highly unrepresentative 
of their appearance. Of the six species enumerated here, four have 
been seen in life; the others only from museum material. 
PORTULACA L. 
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Key to the Hawaiian species 
Flowers yellow; leaves broader than subulate. 
2 Stamens 7-15; petals 2-4 mm. long, closing at noon; leaves small, 
not 2-ranked. A pantropic weed. ... ... P. oleracea 
2 Stamens 24-48; petals 10-12 mm. long (shrunken after drying); 
flowers closing in mid-afternoon; leaves large obovate, often 
2-ranked. Pacific Islands. ... ... P. lutea 
Flowers white, pink, rose, or purple ; leaves subulate, terete, or 
