Wingpod Purslane or Crownpod Purslane (Portulaca umbraticola) is a native, annual wildflower that blooms here in the Sonoran Desert after our summer monsoon rains. These plants are low-growing and a bit weedy-looking, and the small, but colorful flowers close by midday, so these common plants are often overlooked. When seen from close-up, Wingpod Purslane is actually surprisingly attractive even though the flowers are small (compare the flower to the black ant below).

The flowers have five yellow petals that are usually broadly-tipped with orange, but they can also be plain yellow or tipped with red. The leaves are smooth and succulent, and the fleshy stems are often a bright reddish color. Wingpod Purslane has very distinctive seed capsules that are each encircled by a crown-like, membranaceous wing.

I often find Wingpod Purslane growing together with the closely related Shrubby Purslane (Portulaca suffrutescens), which is usually (but not always) a much larger and showier wildflower. Portulaca species can show great variability in flower size between individuals of the same species, something that I have noticed with both Wingpod Purslane and Shrubby Purslane.