22 3 



axillary pedunculate umbels, which are 

 included before expansion in an inv 

 consisting of 4 broad decid bracts: ex 

 6-parted, decid: sta 9, inserted on the 

 throat in 3 rows, the 3 inner with a 

 fleshy 2-lobed stipitate gland at the 

 base, alt with 3 lig-ulate stamin-odia; 

 anth 4, 4-valved, the outer introrse, the 

 inner extrorse: stiff dilated, somewhat 

 lobed: drupe subglobose or ovoid, sub- 

 tended by the thickened base of the ex 

 UMBELLULARIA CALIFORNICA Nutt. 

 Tree 4-15 m hi, growing parts and 

 infl somewhat puberulent; Ivs shining-, 

 dark g, lanceolate-oblong, 5-10 cm 

 long; peduncles in 4 terminal panicles 

 or solitary in the upper, axils, 6-10 fl; 

 sep 3-5 mm long, oblong-ovate; sta in- 

 cluded; drupes solitary or 2-3 in a 

 cluster, 2 cm long, becoming dark p 

 with thin pulp and stone. 



UBTICACEAE. 



Ours an or per herbs, with mostly 

 stipulate, simple Ivs and often with 

 stinging hairs: fls in racemed or pan- 

 icled cymes (ament-like), with small 

 persistent bracts, monoecious or poly- 

 gamous, small, g'ish: pet 0: ex mostly 

 4-parted or sep distinct, with as many 

 sta opp the lobes; fil inflexed and anth 

 reversed in the bud, straightening 

 elastically at anthesis: ova superior 

 1-celled, 1-ovuled; sty and stig 1: fr an 

 akene: endosperm oily, not copious; 

 embryo straight. Herbs with stinging 

 hairs, Ivs opp. 



Sep 4, distinct. Urtica. 



Staminate ex 4-parted; pistillate, 

 usually 2-4-toothed. Hesperocnide. 



Herbs without stinging hairs; Ivs 

 alt. Parietaria. 



Genns URTICA Tournefort. 



Simple or branching herbs, with 

 stinging hairs, and opp 3-7-nerved 

 petioled serrate or dentate stipulate 

 Ivs; fls clustered in ax geminate ra- 

 cemes or hds; staminate fls 4-merous; 

 pistillate ex with unequal sep, Inner 

 larger, at length enclosing the flat- 

 tened ak; stigr sessile, tufted. Nettle. 

 URTICA HOLOSERICEA Nutt. 



Nettle. Per; sts simple, stout, 1-3 m 

 hi, or more, more or less bristly and 

 finely pubescent; Ivs finely and densely 

 pubescent beneath, less so above or 

 with only a few scattering bristles, 

 ovate to lanceolate, 5-10 cm long, the 

 upper much shorter, on petioles % as 

 long, coarsely serrate; stipules narrow- 

 ly oblong, acute or obtuse, 6-10 mm 

 long; staminate fl-clusters rather 

 loo.se, nearly equaling the Ivs; pistil- 

 late denser and shorter; inner sep 

 ovate, densely hispid, 1 mm long, about 

 equaling the broadly ovate ak. 

 URTICA URENS Linn. 



An; erect, branching from the base 

 or sometimes simple, 25-50 cm hi; Ivs 

 ovate or oblong-ovate, deeply and 

 sometimes doubly serrate, 1-4 cmlong 

 on slender petioles of about the same 

 length; stipules 4 mm long; fl-clusters 



224 



rather dense, mostly shorter than the 

 petioles; fls androgynous, mainly pis- 

 tillate. Eu. 



Abrams, Fl LA 107, Common in gar- 

 dens and waste places. 

 URTICA BRKVAHERI S. Watson. 



Much resembling U. holosericea, 

 grayish with a short hispid pubescence 

 or nearly glabrous and with scattered 

 bristles; petioles slender, 2.5-5 cm long, 

 about y 2 the length of the Ivs: fl clus- 

 ters rather open, scarcely exceeding 

 the petioles; sep obovate or somewhat 

 rounded, obtuse, minutely hispid, near- 

 ly 2 mm long and about twice the 

 length of the broadly ovate ak. 



"Watson, Am ac pr 10:348 (1875). 



Coville, CNH 4:195. Mt Whitney 

 meadows. 



Abrams, Fl LA 108. 



Parish. Zoe 5:112. as not LA. 



Type locality: "LA". 



Genus HESPEROCNIDE Torrey. 



Ann herbs distinguished from Urtica 

 by the pistillate perianth, which is a 

 membranous flattened oblong-ovate 

 sac, with a minutely 2-4-toothed orifice. 

 HESPEROCNIDE TENELLA Torr. 



Slender and weak, 25-50 cm hi. sim- 

 ple or branched, somewhat hispid with 

 branching hairs and bristly; Ivs 1-3 

 cm long, thin, ovate, obtusely serrate; 

 petioles slender, % as long; fl clusters 

 rather dense, nearly glomerate, shorter 

 tha^n the petioles; ex thin, hispid, with 

 hooked hairs, in fr 1-1.5 mm long; ak 

 membranous. striately tuberculate 

 with minutely rough points. 



Genus PARIETARIA Tonrnefort. 



Ours slender ann without stinging 1 

 hairs: Ivs alt, entire, 3-nerved petioled, 

 without stipules: fls in ax glomerate 

 clusters, polygamous, subtended by 

 leafy bracts; ex of the perfect fls 4- 

 parted, in the pistillate tubular-ven- 

 f.ricose, 4-cleft with ennnivent lobes: 

 sty slender or 0; stig spatulate, re- 

 curved, densely tufted; ak ovoid, 

 smooth and shining, enclosed in the 

 dry brownish nerved ex. 

 PARIETA'RIA DEBILIS Forst. 



Very slender, usually diffusely 

 branching from the base, 10-25 cm hi, 

 somewhat hispid; Ivs 5-10 mm long or 

 more, broadly ovate, obtuse, rounded at 

 the ba*e or abruptly cuneate; petioles 

 slender, about equaling the Ivs: ak 

 1 mm Ions:. Growing in shade of 

 bTifhes, SD! Ba.ia! 



Abrams, Fl LA 109. 



"Davidson, PI LA Co 16. 



Forst. Fl Ins Aus.t Prodr 73 (1786). 



Type locality: "Nova Zeelandia." 



CovHle CNH 4:195. Funeral mta. 



RAMONA POLYSTACHTA Greene. 



Greene. Pitt 2:235. based on Audibertia 

 polystachya Benth. 



White sage; valuable for bee p 

 Santa Barbara to Baja! 



