Portulaca oleracea L. for phytoremediation and biomonitoring in metal-contaminated environments

In phytoremediation and biomonitoring, plants are used to clean and monitor contaminated environments, respectively. Thus, scientists are searching for ideal plants, i.e., those that rapidly uptake and accumulate a considerable quantity of contaminants in their tissues, with or without toxicity symptoms. All these aspects are satisfied by the annual herbaceous plant Portulaca oleracea L. P. oleracea L. is ranked eighth as “most common plant in the world” and twelfth as “non-cultivating species well colonise[d] in new areas.” Because of its fast regeneration of shoots and roots from leaves and roots and leaves from the stem and its tolerance capacity for metal stress, this plant has been used for phytoremediation and biomonitoring studies in the field, as well as in pot and hydroponics studies. The growth attributes of this plant in metal-stressed environments and the uptake of metals from its growth media (via the root), which is followed by the accumulation of the metals in its tissues, have been studied. Metal is translocated from the root into the shoot and is calculated as the translocation factor, TF; the metal taken from the soil into the plant is calculated as the bioaccumulation factor, BAF. These measures have been used to determine the hyperaccumulation (uptake and storage of unusually large amounts of metals) potential of the plant. This review article critically evaluates the literature studies to increase the practicability of phytoremediation and biomonitoring approaches using various life stages of P. oleracea. [Display omitted] •Studies on Portulaca oleracea metal accumulation from the past 15 years are reviewed.•Fast regenerating ability of this plant may help to clean contaminated sites.•Phytoremediation and biomonitoring potential of this plant are reviewed.•It is a good accumulator for all metals and a hyperaccumulator for specific metals.•Various aspects are suggested for improving the performance of this plant.