URTICACEiE 



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Order LXXXV. Urticacece (2 genera) 



The few British species of this Order are plants 

 with strong fibrous stems, alternate hairy leaves, 

 and small clusters of flowers, with the perianth 

 quadrilobate (or sometimes bilobate in the female 

 flowers), and 4 stamens. 



The most typical plants of this Order are the 

 Nettles (genus Urticd), which are easily recognised 

 by their large toothed leaves, covered with stinging 

 hairs, and green flowers. There are three different 

 kinds in Britain, from 1 to 3 feet high, two being 

 annuals, and one having a perennial creeping root, 

 which renders it very difficult to extirpate. The 

 young leaves may be boiled in spring, and eaten 

 like spinach. In tropical countries (as in some 

 parts of Australia) there are species of Nettle which 

 attain the height of trees, and sting with such 

 severity as to be fatal to man and beast. ■ 



The only other British plant belonging to this 

 Order is the Wall Pellitory {Parietaria officinalis), 

 in which the leaves are ovate-lanceolate, scarcely 

 toothed, downy, and covered with shining sub- 



hyaline spots. The flower is bell-shaped. It 

 grows in waste places. 



A considerable number of insects feed on Nettle ; 

 among them the black or grey spiny caterpillars 

 of three of our handsomest butterflies — the Small 

 Tortoiseshell, the Peacock, and the Red Admiral 

 ( Vanessa Urtiae, Jo, and Atalanta). The last 

 butterfly is black, banded with red, and spotted 

 with white towards the tips, and is an especially 

 beautiful butterfly. It appears late in the summer, 

 and being fond of decaying fruit, is often seen in 

 orchards as well as in flower gardens. Several 

 slender-bodied moths are also frequently dis- 

 turbed among clumps of Nettles, on which their 

 caterpillars feed. One is the Snout {JJypena 

 proboscidalis), a brown moth, with darker lines, 

 measuring an inch and a half across the rather 

 broad wings. The forewings are pointed at the tips, 

 and the palpi extend like a beak in front of the 

 head. The caterpillar is green. The Mother-of- 

 Pearl Moth (Botys verticalis) has narrower and 

 more rounded wings, of a shining yellowish grey ; 

 the caterpillar is greenish, and semi-transparent. 



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