URTiCACE.^. 315 



Cultivated grounds. Can. to Geor. June, July. (!)• — Stem 10 — 16 inches 

 high, stinging. Flowers in short dense clusters. Introduced from Europe. 



Small Slinging Nettle. 



2. U. dioica Linn. : stem and leaves hispid ; leaves ovate, acuminate, 

 cordate at base, coarsely serrate ; flovv^ers mostly dioecious, in much-branched 

 clusters, ^ 



Waste places Can. to Car. June — Aug. %-. — Stem 2 — 3 feet high, erect, 

 simple or branched, clothed with stinging hairs. Flowers small, green, in 

 axillary spikes which are in pairs. The root boiled with alum dyes yarn of a 

 yellow color. Hook. Introduced from Europe. Large Stinging Nettle. 



3. U. froccra Miihl. : leaves opposite, ovate-lanceolate, serrate ; petioles 

 fringed ; flowers dioecious ; spikes branching, clustered by pairs, longer than 

 the petioles. 



Low grounds. Can. to Car, July, Aug. %. — Stem 3 — 4 feet high, obtusely 

 4-angled. Flowers in compact approximate clusters. According to Mr. Elliott; 

 the leaves of this species are never cordate, and the spikes are uniformly longer 

 than the petioles, in which points it diflfers from the U. procera of Pursh, which 

 would seem to be a distinct species, probably the next. Tall Nettle. 



4. U. gracilis Linn. : stem hispid ; leaves opposite, ovate-lanceolate, 

 serrate, cordate at base ; flowers dioecious ; peduncles hispid ; clusters in 

 pairs, somewhat branched, about as long as the petioles. U. procera Pursh. 7 



Rocky places. Can. to Penn. Pursh. Muhl. N. to Arct. Amer. July — Aug. 

 %.—Stem 2—3 feet higli. . Slender-stalked Nettle. 



** Leaves alternate. 



5. U. capitata Linn. : stem naked ; leaves cordate-ovate, acuminate, ser- 

 rate, 3-nerved, twice as long as the petiole ; clusters spiked ; spikes solitary, 

 shorter than the leaves, leafy at the summit. 



Shady woods. Can. to Car. June, July. % . — Stem 4 — 5 feet high, scabrous, 

 furtowed. Leaves scabrous, those on the stem generally opposite. Clusters 

 lateral and axillary. Resembles U. dioica. Headed Nettle. 



6. U. Canadensis Linn. : hispid and stinging ; leaves ovate, acuminate, 

 serrate ; panicles axillary, mostly in pairs, loosely and divaricately branched ; 

 the lower sterile, the upper fertile, U. divaricata Pursh. 



Moist shady grounds. Can. to Car. July, Aug. %. — Stem 5 — 6 feet high, 

 stout, erect, branched. Leaves large, ovate, sometimes cordate. This species 

 has the fibres very tough and strong, and it was formerly proposed by Mr. 

 Whitlow as a substitute for hemp. Canadian Nettle. 



2. ADIKE. Raf.—Richweed. 

 (An ancient Greek name of some nettles,) 



Flowers dioecious or somewhat monoecious. Perianth 3 -(some- 

 times 4-) leaved ; leaves nearly equal, oblong or lanceolate. 

 Sterile Fl. Stamens 3. Fertife Fl. Perianth with a peta- 

 loid cucullate scale at the base of each of the leaves inside, 

 membranaceous in fruit. Stigma 1, minute, capitate, sessile. 

 Nut minutely papillose, straight. 



A. pumila Raf. Urtica pumila Linn. 



Wet grounds. Can, to Car. June, July. Q.—Stem 6—18 inches high, sim- 



