Urtica.\ UETICACE.E (Brown). 543 



1. U. dioica (Linn. Sp. PJ. ed. i. 984) ; perennial, unisexual or 

 with male flowers at the loAver part and female at the upper part of 

 the same stem, or intermingled on the same spike, all parts of the 

 plant armed with stinging hairs; stems li~3 ft. high, erect, herha^ 

 ceous, 4-angled; leaves opposite; petiole ^-1^ in. long; hlade 1^-5 

 in. long, ^-3 in. broad, ovate or elongated ovate-lanceolatej acute or 

 acuminate, rounded to cordate at the base, serrate-dentate with 



p teeth §-2 lin. long, glabrous or puberulous on one or both sides 



besides the stinging hairs, which are not numerous on the upper 

 surface ; flower-spikes in pairs, axillary, much shorter than the 

 leaves, branched; sepals of the male flowers equal, J lin. long, 

 elliptic, obtuse, very minutely puberulous outside; fruiting sepals 

 of the female flower unequal, the 2 larger | lin. long, twice as 

 long as the smaller pair, adpressed to the flattened achene and en- 

 closing it, minutely puberulous outside; achenes ^ lin. long, com- 

 pressed, ovate, smooth, whiti:5h-ochreous. U. dioica, var. ra^ensisy 

 WcdtL Monogr. Urtlc. 78. U. ecJdoniana, BItone, JSIiis, But. Liujd,- 



But. n. 142. U. dioica, var. ecJdoniayia, Wedd. in DC Prodi\ 

 xvi, i. 51. 



Coast Eegion : Albany Div. ; near the Fish River, iMiss Bowker, 111 Queeias- 

 town Div. ; by the Zwartkei Kiver, Dve^e, 8244 1 Baur, 972! 1137! Bongolo 

 Poort, Galpin, 2038 ! 



Central Region : Somerset Div. ; near Somerset East, Boivher ! Graaff Reitiet 

 Kv. ; near Graaff Reinet, Bolus, 692 ! Molteno Div. ; Broughton. naar Molteno, 

 Flanagan, 1G:37 ! Aliwal North Div. ; by the Orange River, Burlel 



Kalahari Rkgion : Orange Free State, by the Caledon River, Burle, 306 I 



A widely distributed weed of cultivation. 



L 



2. U. ureus (Linn. Sp. PI. ed. i. 98-4); mmual, bisexual, 10-15 

 in. high, all pai-ts armed with stinging hairs ; stem herbaceous, 

 4 angled, simple or branched ; leaves opposite ; petiole |-1 j in. long, 

 blade J— 2i in. long, ^—1^ in. broad, ovate or elliptic, obtuse or acute, 

 rounded or subcordate at the base, deeply serrate, with deltoid- 

 lanceolate acute entire or lobed teeth 1^3 Hn. long, glabrous on 

 both sides, except for the stinging hairs ; stipules free, about 1 lin. 

 long, lanceolate, acute ; flower-spikes in pairs in each leaf-axil, simple, 

 usually shorter than the petioles, bearing male and female flowers 

 intermingled ; sepals of the male flowers equal, f lin. long, ovate- 



lanceolate, acute or subacute, very membranous ; fruiting sepals of 



the female flower unequal, the larger f-1 lin, long, broadly ovate, 

 obtuse, enclosing the fruit and three times as long as the smaller 

 pair, ciliate and often with a stinging hair on the back, otherwise 

 labrous; achenes almost 1 lin. long, compressed, ovate, smooth, 





shining, dirty ochreous. Wcdd. Monogr. Uriic. 58, t. 1, C. frgs 

 14, and in BG, Prodr, xvi, i. 40. 



Coast Regio:^ : Cape Div. ; Rondebosch, M'dnel Queenstown Div. ; Shiloh, 

 Banr, 1138! 



Central Region : Ceres Div. ; Leeuwfontein, 2200 ft., Pearson, 3205 ! 

 Easter>- Regiox : Natal ; near Durban, Mrs. StainhanJc in Herb. Wood, 3145 



A widely distributed weed of cultivation. 



