As circumscribed here, Talinum is a primarily Old World genus with only two species found in North America. Other North American species that usually have been included in Talinum are recognized here under Phemeranthus (which see for discussion).

PLANT: Perennial herbs, caulescent, sometimes suffrutescent, glabrous. ROOTS: fleshy to woody. STEMS: simple or branching. LEAVES: alternate or subopposite, subsessile or shortpetiolate; blades broadly planate, succulent or semi-succulent; margin entire. INFLORESCENCE: in ours terminal and/or lateral panicles; peduncles very short to elongate. FLOWERS: pedicellate; sepals 2, deciduous, distinct; petals 5 or rarely more, distinct, fugacious; stamens distinct; ovary superior, 3-carpellate; ovules many; placentation free-central; style 1; stigmas 3, linear in ours. CAPSULE: tardily loculicidal from the apex, 3-valved, the exocarp and endocarp macroscopically differentiated and separating after dehiscence, the endocarp valves remaining connate at apex, attached to receptacle by vascular strands from capsule apex, persistent, the exocarp valves deciduous separately. SEEDS: many, small, in ours circular reniform and more or less compressed, minutely tuberculate, black, not covered by membrane. x = 12. NOTES: Ca. 15 spp., primarily Amer., Afr. (Apparently from an African vernacular name.) REFERENCES: Allison Bair, Marissa Howe, Daniela Roth, Robin Taylor, Tina Ayers, and Robert W. Kiger., 2006, Vascular Plants of Arizona: Portulacaceae. CANOTIA 2(1): 1-22.