Boehmeria URTICACEAE Gonostegia 



BB. Pistillate, staminate or bisexual Ms. in pedunculate clusters or in 

 panicles: lvs. regular at the base. 

 Stems and lvs. pubescent; cystoliths oblong: pistillate perianth 



4-parted 4. Nanocnide 



Stems and lvs. glabrous, or nearly so, but with fusiform cysto- 

 liths : pistillate perianth 3-parted 5. PU e a 



1. Boehmeria Jacq. False Nettle ^MM (Chu Ma Shu) 

 Plants more or less woody below: lvs. 3-nerved at the base: fls. in small 

 pendulous spikes; tubular perianth enclosing the ovary. About 50 species, in the 

 warmer regions of the world; 8 in China. (After G. R. Boehmer, a German botanist 

 1723-1803) 



Key to the Species 



a. Lvs. alternate, white-tomentose beneath, sparingly pubescent above 1. B. t/ivea 

 aa. Lvs. opposite, pubescent, never lanate. 



Frtg. perigonium uniformly pubescent: plant slender, 4-6 dm. high. 2. B. spicata 

 Frtg. perigonium pubescent at base, densely hispid at apex. 

 Plant robust, suffruticose, 1-2 m. high: If. blades thick and 



leather y 3. B. longispica 



Plant herbaceous, 0.5-1 m. high: If. blades thin and papery... 4. B. platanifolia 



1. Boehmeria nivea (L.) Gaudich. Ramie -'vIIl (Chu Ma) (R.M. 192). Suffruticose, 

 1-2 m. high; fls. VII- VIII; fr. IX-X. Southern and eastern Asia; locally in An.', 

 Ki., Ku. Cultivated for its fiber. 



2. Boehmeria spicata Thunb. f]\ffM (Hsiao Ch'ih Ma; Small Red Fiber) (Mak. F. 

 642). Shrub, 3-5 dm. high; fls. reddish, VIII; fr. IX-X; stem and Ivg. tinged 

 with red. Japan, China; locally in An., Ki., Che. Damp banks. 



3. Boehmeria longispica Steud. (B. japonica Miq.) W'TM (Sou Chu Ma; Marsh 

 Boehmeria) (Mak. F. 640). Suffruticose, 1-1.5 m. high; fls. greenish white, VI- 

 VII; fr. X. Japan, China; locally in An., Che., Hon., Ki., Ku. Roadside 

 thickets. 



4. Boehmeria platanifolia (Maxim.) Franch. & Savat. ex C.H. Wright (Mak. F. 640) 

 Erect herb, to lm.; fls. VIII-IX; frs. X-XI. Japan and China; locally in Che. ,' 

 Hup., Ki. Moist woodland. 



2. Elatostema Forst. m^M (Lou T'i Ts'ao Shu; Stairway-herb Genus) 

 Herbs: lvs. alternate, the margins serrate or dentate: fls. in axillary unisexual 



involucrate clusters; perianth of pistillate fls. much shorter than the ovary. About 



100 species, in tropical and subtropical parts of the Old World; 10 in China.' (From 



the Greek terms meaning " drive ", and " filament ", referring to the elastic stamens ) 



1. Elatostema stewardii Merr. (Ph. J. 27:161). Herb, 3-5 dm. high; fls. greenish, 



VII; If. base oblique. China; locally in An., Ki., Hup. Moist shade, cliffs and 



stream beds. Fig. 68. 



3. Gonostegia Turcz. miYMWk (Wu Shui Ko Shu; Vine-of-the-mist Genus) 

 Herbaceous: lvs. opposite, the margins entire: fls. in axillary unisexual clusters: 



top of the ovary jointed and deciduous. About 35 species, mostly in Asia; one in 



China. (Greek: gonia, an angle; and siege, a covering; referring to the ovary cover.) 



1. Gonostegia hirta (Bl.) Miq. URm& (No Mi T'uan Erh; Glutinous Rice Clumps) 



(Mak. F. 640). Decumbent herb, 2-4 dm. high; fls. VI-VIII; lvs. sessile, 3-nerved, 



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