Characterization of 13 Accessions of Purslane (Portulaca sp.) from Bogor, West Java, Indonesia

Characterization is part of crop the breeding process aims to protect biodiversity and preserve local germplasm. Indonesia has two known species of Portulaca, Portulaca oleracea and P. grandifl ora. Thirteen Portulaca accessions have been collected from Bogor area, comprising fi ve accessions of Portulaca oleracea and eight accessions of Portulaca grandifl ora. This study was aimed at the characterization of the 13 accessions and was undertaken at Indofl ower BLST, Bogor, between October 2015 to February 2016. The results showed a signifi cant diff erence in the color of fl owers between the two species of Portulaca. The most signifi cant diff erence is the overall appearance of P. oleracea species. Character color and shape of the fl owers between the P. grandifl ora white (GW) and P. oleracea are similar. Signifi cant diff erences between the species exist in relation to the root systems, but the root systems of accessions within each species are generally similar. The branching characteristics between the two species and among accessions are generally similar, with branches emerging through the base of leaves or nodes. However, there are diff erences in the leaf characteristics between the two species. This study has provided information on fl ower characteristics of P. grandifl ora and P. oleraceae which will be valuable for future breeding eff orts in Portulaca.


Introduction
Floriculture in Indonesia has experienced a very rapid development.This is supported by the increasing housing development in urban areas and the use of ornamental plants for diff erent types of events.Minimalist housing in urban areas requires plants with aesthetic value which can give the impression of cool and natural conditions, so the house occupants can feel comfortable when inside the house.Ornamental plant businesses have an important economic value in the Indonesian economy (Nisa, 2008).Indonesian Ministry of Agriculture (Kementan) cites an 8.3% annual increase in the demand for cut fl owers, with the demand for other ornamental plant products also increasing signifi cantly (Kementan, 2015).Part of this demand is coming from industrial properties and services that requires garden decor, room decor, and landscaping.
Portulaca is also known as purslane and is a fl owering plant from within the Portulacaceae family.Portulaca can be used as bedding plants, a plant in hanging baskets, mini fl owering potted plants, as well as in small urban gardens areas.It has been estimated there are a about 100 diff erent species of Portulaca worldwide, of which only 70 species have been studied (Jonas et al., 1972).In some areas Portulaca is regarded as a weed due to its rapid growth and adaptation.Although considered a weed, Portulaca has fl owers that are beautiful and attractive in form, so it has the potential to be used as an ornamental plant and therefore has potential economic value.Portulaca is an edible plant that contains a fi ve times greater content of omega-3 fatty acids than spinach Portulaca is also rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, iron and antioxidants (Uddin et al., 2014).
Portulaca morphological characterization is very important in relation for the identifi cation of local germplasm resources.Analysis of genetic diversity provides the basis of the pattern of population grouping of genotypes and for the identifi cation of the characters that form the basis of each genotype

RESEARCH ARTICLE
group.
Analysis of diversity and phylogenetic relationships can provide information on the close biological relationships between genotypes, which can then be used as the basis for breeding programs.Analysis of genetic parameters is used to obtain information on gene actions, genetic variability, heritability, and other genetic information.The genetic information is of great importance to allow more effi cient and eff ective plant selection (Syukur et al., 2012).Plant characterization before a plant species is to be introduced as landscape plants in urban areas are important, to ensure that the plants are suited to the new environmental condition (Aisyah et al., 2014).This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of 13 accessions of Portulaca collected in the city of Bogor, and to study the genetic relationships among the accessions.

Experimental Site
The experiment was conducted in an experimental fi eld at Indofl ower BLST, Bogor, West Java, Indonesia (Latitude: -6.5878°, Longitude: 106.8017°, altitude 250 meters above sea level).The study was undertaken between October 2015 and February 2016.The experimental location was open land that allowed full natural and even illumination of the area.

Plant Materials
This study used 13 accessions of Portulaca collected in Bogor City, Indonesia, comprising two species, P. oleracea and P. grandifl ora (Table 1).

Experimental Design
The experimental plants were planted into polybags measuring 20x20cm, with each polybag containing one plant.The planting medium used was a mixture of soil, rice husks, vermi compost, cow and goat manure (5: 5: 1: 2: 2 by volume).The plants were propagated from cuttings from mature plants with a length of 5cm each.Cuttings were treated with rooting hormone Rootone-F (a.i.1-Naphthaleneacetamide) with the recommended dose of use, and then planted in the media.Irrigation and fertilizer being applied as needed.A completely randomized design was used for the experiment, with six replications (plants) of each accession.

Data Collection
Thirty-four morphological characteristics of each Portulaca accession were recorded according to scoring methods developed by The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV,Table 2).Location of root initiation was recorded using the UPOV scoring system, i.e. tip: 3, nodes: 5, and tip and nodes: 7. Stem and leaf

Results and Discussion
There are signifi cant morphological diff erences between P. grandifl ora and P. oleracea (Figure 1) in relation to branching mechanisms, root, leaf, and stem characteristics.However, there are also similarities in the shape and color of the fl owers in some accessions.were formed on the nodal sections of the cuttings one day after planting.Therefore both species are easy-toroot, but P. oleraceae cuttings take a longer time to root than P. grandifl ora.The root system of P. grandifl ora (Figure 2) is likely to allow for better absorption of water and nutrients.Root growth in general is infl uenced by genetic and environmental factors and, according to Suardi (2002) the rooting properties can be used to predict whether plants have resistance to environmental stresses such as drought and nutrient defi ciencies.P. oleracea species seems to adapt to a dry environment, while P. grandifl ora species are more adapted to higher moisture environments.Rao et al. (2016) also stated that rooting characters, such as root length, the number of root hairs, root and branch root anatomy, can be used to assess the potential of plant resistance and/or adaptation to problems such low levels of soil nitrogen, phosphorus defi ciency and excessive aluminum.

Stem Morphology and Branching Characteristics
The stems of P. oleracea are generally tall and long, with a tendency of the stems to stoop and semiupright to avoid the collapse and breakage of stems.
Among the accessions of P. grandifl ora, GU and GP exhibited hairs on the stem surface, while accessions GW and GV did not exhibit this character.
P. grandifl ora single generally had more branches than multi-layer petal P. grandifl ora, whereas P. oleracea generally had fewer branches than P. grandifl ora.The largest number of branches was in the GMT accession which had 14, and the least in accession OK which had 8.The higher number of branches in accession GMT is believed to refl ect its good adaptability and its associated ability to absorb water and nutrients.
Figure 3. Stems and branches of (A) P. oleracea and (B) P. grandifl ora P. oleracea accessions generally have purple-brown stems, except for OW that had light green to whitish green.However, there were diff erences in color between the top and basal section of the stems, and the color changes with maturity.The young stems tended to be brownish to white in color which, turning to brown with increasing maturity.The petal color usually correlates with the stem color, e.g.plants with light green stem color usually have white petals.However, the fi nal petal color was determined by other diff erent parameters and was diffi cult to predict in advance of actual fl owering.

Morphological characteristics Accessions
GU GW GP GV GMT GPT GUT GVT OU OW OP OK OV Only semi-upright varieties Leaf blade: variegation  Plant height was between 82 cm and 28 mm, with the tallest accession being GPT and the shortest accession being OK (Table 4).Alam et al. (2014) reported a range in Portulaca plant height from 30 to 66 cm for 60 day-old plants in saline and drought treatments.P. oleracea did not seem to grow well in polybags, indicated by the inhibited plant growth of the longest accession, GPT, was only 135 mm, and the shortest accession, OK, was 22 mm.GMT had the highest number of branches, averaging 6.18 per plant, while OK had the lowest number, averaging just 1 per plant (Table 4).The plant growth based on the speed and vigor of vegetative growth was best in GPT and GMT.Portulaca is a semi-succulent that stores moisture in its fl eshy leaves and stems.P. grandifl ora leaves are oblong to cylindrical with pointed tips.P. oleracea leaf character resembles the leaf character of P. grandifl ora, and just has a diff erent leaf shape, with the leaf shape P. oleracea being oval or spatulate according to UPOV description method.The leaf of P. oleracea is wider and oval shape (Figure 4).The leaves of P. oleracea have venation at the center of the leaves which divides the leaves into two symmetric halves; the leaf surface is smooth and thick.P. oleracea leaf length was in the range of one to fi ve cm.The leaves of P. grandifl ora have no venation, and are narrower when compared to P. oleracea, with leaf length in the range of 2-4 cm.Portulaca leaves exposed to high salt stress had darker color (Alam et al., 2014).

Flower Characteristics
Flower initiation begins with the appearance of fl oral buds on the end of the stem.The fl oral buds of P. grandifl ora are generally larger than P. oleraceae.Note: 1) Data at seven weeks after planting.Means in the same line followed by the same letter are not signifi cantly diff erent according to DMRT at 5% 2) Color was scored according to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart (RHSCC) The size of P. grandifl ora fl oral buds at seven days after the fi rst visible bud is 4 to 7 mm in diameter and 5 to 12 mm in length, whereas in P. oleraceae it was 3 to 4 mm diameter and 4 to 7 mm in length.There are diff erences in the size and color of the fl oral buds among the diff erent accessions.Single layer P. grandifl ora has the largest fl oral buds, followed by P. oleraceae and multi-layer P. grandifl ora.Single layer Portulaca has larger and taller stamens and stigma (Figure 8) compared to the multi layers (Figure 9).In addition the stamens and stigma of the multilayer Portulaca are sometimes shaded by their petals.Due to their fl owering characteristics, single layer Portulaca would likely to have better chance of success in pollination and the breeding eff orts than the multi layers.
The color and shape of the fl ower aff ects the success of pollination in the natural environment, whereas natural selection and genetic variants aff ect the fl ower color (Fenster et al,. 2014).Flower color has a pattern associated with the process of evolution of a plant (Fenster et al,. 2014).Purple-color petal usually correlates with orangecolor pollen (Figure 8), which is clearly visible in single layer petal P. grandifl ora.The correlation is less clear in P. oleracea (Figures 9 and 10).Petal color refl ects the level of anthocyanins levels in a fl ower (Kim et al. 2007).The level of anthocyanin pigment is the basis of the appearance of orange, red, purple, and blue colors (Kim et al. 2007).Among the 13 accessions of Portulaca covered in this study, the highest levels of anthocyanins are believed to be in accessions GU, GUT and OU.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Diff erences in the overall phenotypic characteristics of P. grandifl ora (A) and P. oleracea (B).The roots of both Portulaca species are succulent and tender, and can be easily broken (Figures 2 A and B).

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Root initiation of (A) Portulaca oleracea and (B) Portulaca grandifl ora from Bogor, West Java, Indonesia.Root Initiation P. oleracea cuttings (Figure 2 A) took three days to root, and root initiation occurs only on the bases of the cuttings.Roots of P. grandifl ora cuttings (Figure 2 B)were formed on the nodal sections of the cuttings one day after planting.Therefore both species are easy-toroot, but P. oleraceae cuttings take a longer time to root than P. grandifl ora.The root system of P. grandifl ora (Figure2) is likely to allow for better absorption of water and nutrients.Root growth in general is infl uenced by genetic and environmental factors and, according toSuardi (2002) the rooting properties can Plant morphological characteristics and scoring system based on The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV, 2008)2) Color was scored according to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart (RHSCC)

Figure 5 .
Figure 5.The growth of fl oral bud of single layer petal P. grandifl ora at 1 (A), 3 (B) and 7 days (C) after initiation.

Figure 6 .
Figure 6.The growth of fl oral bud of multi-layer petal P. grandifl ora at 1 (A), 3 (B) and 7 days (C) after initiation.

Figure 7 .
Figure 7.The growth of fl oral bud of multi-layer petal P. oleraceae at 1 (A), 3 (B) and 7 days (C) after initiation.Portulaca fl owers reached anthesis within eight days from the beginning of the visible fl oral bud initiation.Number of days from the visible fl oral bud to anthesis is an important character for breeding purpose because Portulaca fl owers only last 8 to 12 hours after anthesis.The eff ectiveness of cross breeding among the diff erent accessions of Portulaca is likely to correlate with the structure of the fl owers.Single layer Portulaca has larger and taller stamens and stigma (Figure8) compared to the multi layers (Figure9).In addition the stamens and stigma of the multilayer Portulaca are sometimes shaded by their

Table 1 .
Portulaca accessions from Bogor City, West Java Indonesia determined based on color codes according to the Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart (RHSCC).Plant height, i.e. the maximum height of each plant from the potting media surface, and the longest stem per plant was scored when the plants were ten-week-old.Data on plant height, length of the longest stem of each plant, and number of branches per plant were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the STAR software version 2.0.1.Means were separated using the Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at 5% level of signifi cance.
* RHCC: The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart color scoring was

Table 2 .
(UPOV, 2008)ant morphological characteristics and scoring system based on The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants(UPOV, 2008)