URTICACEAE (NETTLE FAMILY) 



Means of suppression the same as for the Slender Nettle. 



Both this plant and the Slender Nettle yield a fiber said to be 

 stronger and finer than that of flax, but no economic use has ever 

 been made of them. 



WESTERN NETTLE 



Urtica holosericea, Nutt. 



Native. Perennial. Propagates by seeds. 

 Time of bloom: August to September. 

 Seed-time : September to October. 



Range : From Utah and the Wasatch Mountains westward through- 

 out California. 

 Habitat : Waste places, borders of streams. 



A larger and stouter plant than 

 either of the common Eastern 

 Nettles, and possessed of vicious 

 stings. Stem erect, unbranched, 

 bristly hairy, frequently attaining 

 to ten feet in height though more 

 commonly four to seven feet tall. 

 Leaves three to six inches long, 

 ovate to lance-shape but obtuse 

 at base, with short, stout petioles 

 and oblong stipules ; they are 

 rather thick, hairy on both sides, 

 but especially so on the lower 

 surface. The staminate flowers 

 are in loose, slenderly branching, 

 axillary panicles nearly as long as 

 the leaves ; pistillate panicles much 

 shorter and more crowded, the per- 

 sistent membranaceous calyx-lobe 

 enfolding the achenes. (Fig. 50.) 



Means of control 



Cultivation of the ground for 

 the purpose of destroying the per- 

 ennial roots ; or, small areas may 



FIG. 50. Western Nettle (Urtica 

 holosericea). X $. 



