URTICACEAE. 



105 



2. Pilea nummulariae folia 



(Sw.) Wedd. Round-leaved 

 Pilea. (Fig. 122.) Perennial, 

 pubescent; stems creeping or 

 pendent, often 1° long or more, 

 the branchis l'-5' long. Leaves 

 suborbicular, 5"-8" broad, 3- 

 nerved, crenulate, pubescent 

 with long translucent hairs, the 

 linear raphides numerous and 

 prominent (under a lens) on 

 the under side ; petioles slender, 

 somewhat shorter than the 

 blades; flower-clusters very 

 small, in the upper axils. 

 {Vrtica nummulariae folia Sw.) 



In lawns, Harrington House 

 and Orange Valley. Naturalized. 

 Native of the West Indies. 



Pilea grandifolia (L.) 



Blume, Large-leaved Pilea, 



Jamaican, seen in the garden 



at Mt. Hope in 1914, is erect, 



glabrous, l°-2i° high, with 



long-petioled ovate to elliptic, 



serrate leaves 3'-6' long, the 



numerous minute flowers in 



terminal panicles. 



3. BOEHMEEIA Jacq. 

 Perennial stingless herbs (some tropical species shrubs or even trees), with 



petioled 3-nerved leaves, distinct or connate stipules, and small monoecious or 



dioecious flowers, glomerate in axillary spikes or heads. Staminate flowers 



mostly 4-parted, or the calyx of 4 distinct sepals, usually with a rudimentary 



ovary. Pistillate calyx tubular or urn-shaped, enclosing the ovary; stigma 



subulate. Achene enclosed by the pistillate calyx. [In honor of Geor^ Rudolph 



Boehmer, 1723-1803, professor in 

 Wittenberg.] About 50 species, 

 mostly of tropical regions. Type 

 species: Boehmeria ramiflora Jacq. 



1. Boehmeria cylindrica (L.) 

 Willd. False Nettle. (Fig. 123.) 

 A perennial rough erect branching 

 herb, l°-3° tall. Stem stiff; leaves 

 ovate, ovate-oblong or ovate-lanceo- 

 late, thin, slender-petioled, opposite, 

 or some alternate, coarsely dentate, 

 I'-IV wide; petioles shorter than the 

 blades; stipules distinct; flowers dioe- 

 cious or androgynous; staminate 

 spikes usually interrupted, the pistil- 

 late mostly continuous, V-1^' long; 

 achene ovate-oval, acute, rather less 

 than 1" long. [Urtica cylindrica L.] 

 Frequent in marshes. Native. 

 North America and West Indies. Flow- 

 ers from winter to autumn. Its fruits 

 probably transported by the wind. 



