406 LXVII. URTICACE7E. [Debregeasia. 



siharu, tulsidri, east of Kavi ; Pincho, jmn, Upper Sutlej ; Tuslddri, 

 Kamaon. 



A large shrub, branchlets and petioles with soft grey tomentum. 

 Leaves lanceolate or linear-lanceolate, shortly petiolate, serrate, upper 4 side 

 rough with numerous minute round elevated dots, under side white, with 

 soft densely matted tomentum, penniveined, the lowest pair of lateral 

 nerves basal. Flowers monoicous, in round axillary sessile or subsessile 

 heads, numerous bracteoles mixed with flowers. Male perianth outside 

 white-tomentose, as long as bracteoles. Fruit yellow, of numerous minute 

 pointed fleshy berries. 



Afghanistan. Salt range. Common, generally in valleys near water, in the 

 North- West Himalaya east to the Sarda river, ascending to 5000 ft., and extend- 

 ing up the Sutlej valley as far as Wangtu. Fl. March, April ; fr. June- Aug. 

 Twine and ropes are made of the fibre. 



Villebrunea frutescens, Blume ; DC. Prodr. xvi. i. 235 21 (Syn. Urtica frut- 

 escens, Thunb. ; Roxb. Fl. Ind. hi. 589, and Bohmeria efrutescens, Thunb.), is a 

 shrub, with slender pubescent branches, ovate, acuminate, serrate leaves, con- 

 color or white beneath, 3-nerved, the midrib penniveined in the upper hall' of 

 leaf, blade 2-4, petiole 1-2 in. long. Flowers dioicous, in sessile or subsessile 

 compact heads, lateral, below the leaves, numerous bracteoles between the 

 flowers. Fruit of many minute dry ovoid nuts, the base surrounded by the 

 connate, half fleshy bracteoles. Kamaon, Vern. Gur tushiara (?), Madden, 

 Nepal, Sikkim, ascending to 5000 ft, Bhutan, China, Japan. 



4. MAOUTIA, Weddell. 



Shrubs, with alternate triplinerved leaves, hoary-tomentose beneath. 

 Flowers monoicous or dioicous, clustered or capitate, the clusters loosely 

 and irregularly cymose, cymes usually in pairs from the axils. Male 

 flowers : perianth 5-partite. Segments valvate in aestivation. Stamens 5. 

 Pistil rudimentary. Female flowers : perianth usually 0. Ovary ovoid, 

 with a solitary suberect ovule ; style short ; stigma sublateral persistent. 

 Nut slightly compressed or trigonous, outer stratum slightly fleshy. Al- 

 bumen thin. 



1. M. Puya, Wedd. Syn. Urtica Puya, Wall. Boehmeria frutescens, 

 Don Prodr. Fl. Nep. 59. B. Puya, Hook. Journ. Bot. iii. (1851) t. 7. 

 Vern. Poi, pua, N.W.P. See Madden in Journ. As. Soc. xviii. i. 622. 



A shrub, branches with long soft hairs. Leaves elliptic, long-acumin- 

 ate, dentate with large triangular teeth, white beneath with densely mat- 

 ted hairs, 3 prominent basal nerves, blade 3-6, petiole 1-2 in. long, stipules 

 axillary, deeply bifid. Flowers monoicous, in small round heads, either 

 unisexual or composed of male and female flowers mixed, the flower-heads 

 in axillary dichotomous panicles shorter than petioles, with slender 

 branches. Female flowers without perianth. Nuts triquetrous. 



Garhwal, Kamaon, Nepal, Sikkim, ascending to 4000 ft. Kasia hills. Burma, 

 hills east of Toungoo above 2500 ft. (D. B.) Fl. May-July. Cloth and fishing- 

 nets are made of the fibre. Kegarding this and other Nettle-fibres, see Royle, 

 Fibrous Plants of India. 



