Morphological characterisation of leaves among Portulaca germplasm

Introduction

Portulaca is a succulent flowering plant belonging to the Portulacaceae family, also known as Moss rose, 10 o'clock plant and Purslane. Portulaca is renowned for its striking colours, hardiness, growth pattern and sun-loving nature. Plants from the Portulaca genus are known for their use in landscaping and ornamentation of gardens as well as their high nutritional value. About 100 species of herbaceous plants belong to the Portulaca (Moss Rose) genus (Ocampo and Columbus, 2012) [6] . As a member of the Portulacaceae family, it originates from southern Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay but has garnered global cultivation, including regions like India, South America and Australia. Portulaca plant species is esteemed for its dazzling, flamboyant flowers and succulent foliage, rendering it a favoured selection for garden adornment, landscaping and container gardening (Mane et al., 2022) [3] . It possesses an inherent tolerance to drought and heat and is resilient in arid climates, making it an ideal candidate for xeriscaping and water-conserving gardening practices (Jin et al., 2016) [1] . Portulaca grandiflora Hook. Typically produces multi petalous flowers with various hues and has elliptical leaves as well as semi-upright growing habit. Portulaca pleracea L. on the other hand produces flowers with five petals, spatulate leaves and have creeping type of growing habit (Setiawan et al., 2016) [10] . Portulaca umbraticola Kunth. Characterized by succulent, prostrate stems, it forms dense mats of foliage that sprawl across the ground or cascade over container edges. The petite and fleshy leaves adopt a cuneiform, spatulate to linear shape and are arranged alternately along the stems (Souza et al., 2024) [11] . Portulaca pilosa L. have unique growing habit with compact leaves, shorter stem with pink flowers.

Materials and Methods

The present experiment was carried out during the year 2024-2025 at the Greenhouse complex, Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture, ASPEE College of Horticulture, Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, under 'South Gujarat Heavy Rainfall Zone-I, AES-III', which comes under tropical climate. Pot media was prepared in a ratio of 3:1 containing garden soil and farm yard manure (FYM) respectively.

Cultural practices were followed throughout span of experiment. Experiment was conducted in completely randomized design (CRD) having 19 genotypes as treatment and three repetitions in which each pot contained 6 cuttings a length of 8-10 cm. Observations such as number of leaves were counted from 10 cm segment of shoot. Internodal length, leaf thickness, Leaf length and leaf width were measured using vernier caliper. Leaf area was recorded using leaf area meter while leaf colour and lead shape were recorded based on visual observations.

Results and Discussion

Number of leaves per 10 cm segment

The maximum number of leaves 52.89 recorded in the G 17 germplasm of Portulaca pilosa followed by germplasms of Portulaca grandiflora ranged from 18.89 to 20.67 leaves. G 10 to G 16 germplasms of Portulaca umbraticola showed midrange of 14.44 to 15.89 leaves per 10 cm of shoot segment. Minimum number of leaves was recorded in the G 18 germplasm of Portulaca oleracea (12.33).

Internodal length

Data revealed that maximum internodal length was recorded significantly higher in the G 18 germplasm of Portulaca oleracea with 3.68 cm, followed by G 10 to G 16 germplasms of Portulaca umbraticola which varied between 0.69 to 0.71 cm and G 1 to G 9 and G 19 germplasms of Portulaca grandiflora ranged within 0.53 to 0.65 cm. Minimum internodal length was observed in the G 17 germplasm of Portulaca pilosa (0.28 cm).

Leaf area (cm 2 ) Maximum leaf area was observed higher in G 18 germplasm of Portulaca oleracea (1.27 cm 2 ) followed by G 10 to G 16 germplasms of Portulaca umbraticola ranged from 0.65 cm 2 to 0.97 cm 2 , while G 1 to G 9 and G 19 germplasms of Portulaca grandiflora ranged between 0.27 cm 2 to 0.38 cm 2 . Least leaf area was observed in the G 17 germplasm of Portulaca pilosa (0.15 cm 2 ). [9] observed significant variation in leaf area, leaf length, leaf breadth and leaf thickness in 15 accessions of Portulaca oleracea.

Conclusion

The study revealed that G 18 germplasm of Portulaca oleracea exhibits the highest internodal length, leaf area, leaf length and leaf width. Highest number of leaves were recorded in G 17 germplasm of Portulaca pilosa, while Leaf thickness was found non-significant during study. Leaf colour was observed between green colour group to yellowgreen colour group. From the study it could be concluded that G 18 germplasm of Portulaca oleracea exhibits significantly superior leaf characteristics as compared to other species utilized in study.

References

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