Plants to 15 dm. Stems usually stout. Leaves to 9 cm; blade obovate to oblanceolate, base attenuate. Inflorescences race-mose or cymose. Flowers: sepals persistent, lanceolate to ovate, 5-6 mm; petals purplish, pink, or white, sometimes yellow, elliptic to ovate, 7-13 mm; stamens 20-35; stigma 1, 3-lobed; pedicel triquetrous, distally thickened, to 12 mm. Capsules subglobose, 4-6 mm; exocarp and endocarp usually not separating after dehiscence, valves wholly deciduous. 2n = 24, 48.

Flowering and fruiting year-round. Pinelands, hammocks, and disturbed areas, sandy soils; 0-100 m; Fla.; Mexico; West Indies; Central America; South America; Africa.

Talinum fruticosum is a primarily tropical species that may not be native in the flora area. In western Africa, the leaves are eaten as a potherb.