The species was described in 1760 under the basionym of Portulaca paniculatabyNicolaus Joseph von Jacquin (1727–1817), then recombined in the genus Talinum in 1791 by Joseph Gaertner (1732–1791). In current classification, Talinum paniculatum belongs to the family Talinaceae, it was assigned in the past to the family of the purslaneorPortulacaceae.
Talinum paniculatum bears tuberous roots[3] and paniclesofflowers and produces tiny, jewel-like fruits. Its peculiarity is its very long root, of orange colour , that reaches about 80 centimeters. It is a very bad herbincrops, and it proliferates very easily, since it roots very easily, even after it has been plucked and if it has any part of the root in contact with the soil. The plant as a whole can reach almost 2 meters high measured from the soil surface, where after maturity, its brown seeds (in abundance), spread easily through the surrounding area.[4]
Talinum paniculatum is native to the southern United States, much of Latin America (such as Paraguay and Uruguay) and the Caribbean. It has been introduced notably in Africa and Asia.[1]
^Roskov Y., Kunze T., Orrell T., Abucay L., Paglinawan L., Culham A., Bailly N., Kirk P., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Decock W., De Wever A., Didžiulis V. (ed) (2014). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2014 Annual Checklist.. Species 2000: Reading, UK.. Retrieved on 26 May 2014.
