NETTLE FAMILY 195 
Herbs with stinging hairs. 
' MenvecrOppostic: va, ists. Ye ls Ae she. ck OTECR 
Meanestraliciiaher 50.8 8S) Ge ) 2.) s duaportes 
Herbs without stinging hairs. 
Leaves opposite. 
Pistillate: calyx 3) parted’. Ges. .. Pilea 
Pistillate calyx 2 to 4 parted . . Boehmeria 
Teeaves alternate”. cf "ay Goo.) 3 an, Parietaria 
1. URTICA, L. 
Herbs, 1 to 6 ft. tall, with opposite simple leaves, stem and leaves 
covered with stinging hairs. Flowers minute, green, in long hanging 
clusters at the axils of the leaves. Staminate flowers (sometimes on same 
plant with the pistillate and sometimes on same group) with 4 stamens 
and a 4 parted calyx. The calyx of the pistillate flower also 4 parted but 
2 parts are larger than the other pair. Nos. 1 and 2, perennial; No. 3, 
annual. 
1. U. dioica, L. (Fig. 6, pl. 31.) Srineine Nerrre. Great NETTLE. 
Leaves ovate with rounded or heart-shaped base, 5 to 7 veined, 1 to 3 in. 
wide, tapering at apex, serrations very deep, very bristly with stinging 
-hairs. Not as common as No. 2. Found in waste places and roadsides. 
2. U. gracilis, Ait. (Fig. 4, pl. 31.) Stenper Nettie. Leaves slen- 
der-ovate to lanceolate. Stinging hairs less profuse than No. 1. Apex 
tapering, base rounded, rarely heart-shaped, 3 to 6 in. long, 1 to 1% in. 
wide. Plant 2 to 6 ft. high. Common. 
3. U. urens, L. (Fig. 8, pl. 31.) Smartt Nettie. Leaves elliptic 
or egg-shaped, very coarsely and deeply serrate, mostly 3 nerved. Stinging 
hairs more sparingly provided than in No. 1 or No. 2. Two flower clus- 
ters in each leaf axil. Plant from 8 in. to 18 in. high. In waste places. 
4. U. Lyallii, Wats. Lyati’s Nettie. Similar to U. gracilis, but 
the leaves broader, the surface somewhat bristly, sometimes quite downy, 
usually heart-shaped at base. Teeth fewer and coarser than in U. gracilis. 
Waste places, New Foundland south to Conn., and western New York. 
2. LAPORTEA, Gaud. (Urticastrum, Fabr.) 
Perennial plants with stinging hairs. Flowers small, green, in loose 
branching and spreading clusters. Staminate flowers, sepals 5; stamens 
5. Pistillate flowers, calyx 4-parted, the inner pair of segments larger 
than the others, surrounding an ovary. 
L. canadensis, (L.) Gaud. (Fig. 9, pl. 31.) Woop NETTLE. 
(Urticastrum divaricatum, Kuntze.) Leaves, usually very large (3 to 7 
in. long, 2 to 5 in. broad), thin, ovate, with spreading feather veins; 
serrations sharp and conspicuous. Flowers in large loose clusters larger 
than the leaf steams. Found in rich woods of our area. 
3- PILEA, Lindley (Adicea, Raf.) 
Herbs without stings, with opposite leaves. Flowers of both kinds on 
