348 URTICACEAE (NETTLE FAMILY^ 



compressed, covered by the succulent berry-like calyx, the whole spike thus 

 becoming a thickened oblong and juicy (edible) aggregate fruit. (Tlie classical 

 Latin name.) 



L M. rubra L. (Red M.) Leaves heart-ovate, serrate, rough above, downv 

 beneath, pointed (on young shoots often lobed) ; flowers frequently dioecious ; 

 fruit dark purple, long. — Rich woods, w. N. E. to s. 'Jtit., the Dakotas, e. Kan., 

 and south w. May. — Large tree, ripening its blackbeny-like fruit in July. 



2. M. ALBA L. (White M.) Leaves obliquely heart-ovate, acute, serrate, 

 sometimes lobed, smooth and shining; fruit whitish. — Spontaneous neai 

 houses. (Introd. from Eu.) 



9. URTiCA [Tourn.] L. Nettle 



Flowers monoecious, or rarely dioecious, clustered, the clusters mostly in 

 racemes, spikes, or loose heads. Ster. Fl. Sepals 4. Stamens 4, inserted 

 around the cup-shaped rudiment of a pistil. Fert. Fl. Sepals 4, in "pairs ; the 

 2 outer smaller and spreading ; the two inner flat or concave, in fruit mem- 

 branaceous and inclosing aehene. — Stipules in our species distinct. Flowei-s 

 greenish ; in summer. (The classical Latin name ; from urei'e, to burn.) 



* Perennials ; Hower-clusters in branching panicled spikes, often dioecious. 



-t- Petiole more than half as long as the leaf-breadth. 



1. XT. gracilis Ait. Slender (0.6-8 m. hiuh), sparingly bristly and often with 

 some short grayish pubescence ; leaves iiarroLoly lance-oblong, 1-5 cm. broad, 

 pointed, serrate, 3— 'j-nerved from the rounded or scarcely heart-shaped base, 

 almost glabrous, with relatively small teeth (25-35 on eacn side the middle leaves) ; 

 spikes slender and loosely panicled. — Fence-rows and moist ground, common. 



2. U. Lydllii Wats. Sparingly bristly and sometimes grayish pubescent ; 

 leaves ovate or ovate-lanceolate, mostly 3-7 cm. broad, usually cordate, with 

 fewer and coarser teeth (15-23 on each side) ; otherwise n)uch like the pre- 

 ceding. — Alluvial thickets and waste places, Nfd. to Ct. and w. N. Y. ; also 

 Rocky Mts. and westw. 



•»- -^ Petioles less than half as long as the leaf-breadth. 



3. U. DiofcA L. (Stingixg N.) Very bristly and stinging, 6-9 dm. high , 

 leaves ovate-heart-shaped, pointed, very deeply serrate, downy beneath as well as 

 the upper part of the stem ; spikes much branched. — Waste places and road- 

 sides, rather rare. (Nat. from Eu.) 



* * Annuals; flower-clusters chiefly axillary and shorter than the petiole, 



androgynous. 



A. U. tiRExs L. Leaves elliptical or ovate, very coarsely and deeply serrate 

 with long spreading teeth, the terminal teeth not longer than the lateral ones ; 

 flower-clusters 2 in each axil, small and loose. — Waste grounds, near dwellings, 

 eastw. ; scarce. — Plant.1-3 dm. high, with sparse stings. (Nat. from Eu.) 



5. U. chamaedryoides Pursh. I^eaves ovate and mostly heart-shaped, the 

 upper ovate-lanceolate, coarsely serrate-toothed ; floicer-clusters globular, 1-2 in 

 each axil, and spiked at the summit. — Alluvial shaded soil, from Ky. to the 

 Gulf States ; casual northw. — Slender, 2-7 dm. high, sparsely beset with stings. 



10. LAP6rTEA Gaud. Wood Nettle 



Flowers monoecious or dioecious, clustered, in loose cymes ; the upper widely 

 spreading and chiefly or entirely fertile ; the lower mostly sterile. Ster. Fl. 

 Sepals and stamens 5, with a rudiment of an ovary. Fert. Fl. Calyx of 4 

 sepals, the two outer or one of them usually minute, and the two inner much 

 larger. Stigma hairy down one side, persistent. Aehene ovate, flat, reflexed 

 on the winired or margined pedicel, nearly naked. — Perennial herbs with large 

 serrate leaves, and axillary stipules. (Named for FranQois L. de Lapoi'te, 

 Count of Castelnau, Entomologist of the IQth century.) 



