Okdeb lie.— URTICACK^ 637 



mme axil. Rare norttiward, iteqaent South. Feb., Mar. (Sonth). Apr. — Jn, 

 (North). § Eur. 



4 IT. puipurdsoens Nutt. Assurgeut, beset with spreading stings; Ivs. broadig 

 ovate, cordate, 8-veined, coarsely crenate-serrate ; ghmeniies capitate, much shorter 

 than tho petioles, dense, axillary, spioato at top. — Ky. to La. Sts. purplish, 12 

 to 18' high, clustered. Lvs. variegated, 1' long and wide, petiole 6 to 9". Mar. 

 — May. 



5 U. chameedroides Ph. St. bristly with stings ; lvs. subsessUe, ovate, serrate, 

 strigous beneath ; ghmerules axillary, sessile, subglobous, refloxod. — On the islands 

 of Ga. (Pursh.) Lvs. small. Stings white and very conspicuous. May. — Is this 

 a variety of U. urens ? 



2. LAPOR'TEA, Gaudich. Wood Nettle. Flowers 5 or ^ ? ; 6 

 calyx 5-partcd ; stamens 5 ; ovary rudimentary, hemispherical ; $ calyx 

 4-sepalcd, the 2 outer minute, the 2 inner foliaceous in fruit ; stigma 

 subulate, elongated ; achenia compressed-lenticular, very oblique, finally 

 reflexed on tho winged pedicel. — 21 Hairs stinging. Lvs. ample, alter- 

 nate, ovate. Fls. in axillary panicles, the lower sterile, upper fertile. 

 L. Canadensis Gaud. Hispid and stinging ; lvs. on long petioles, broad-ovate, 



rounded or subcordato at base, serrate, acuminate ; panicles axUlary, solitary or 

 in pau:s, divaricate, mostly shorter than tho petioles, the fertile nearly terminal, 

 elongated in fruit. — Damp woods, IT. S. and Can. St. 2 to 6f high, mostly simple, 

 flexuous at top. Lvs. 3 to 5' by 2 to 3', more or less hispid bot^ sides, sometimes 

 nearly smooth. Lower petioles 3' long. Fls. minute, in panicles 1 to 4' in length, 

 the fertile panicle about 2', erect, enlarged in fruit. Aug. (TJrtica Canadensis 

 and divarioata L.) 



3. PrLEA, Lindley. Rich-weed. (Lat. ^^7&ms, a cap ; from the 

 resemblance of one of the sepals of P. muscosa.) Flowers 8 oi $ $ . 



S Calyx of 3 or 4 equal sepals ; stamens 3 or 4, $ Calyx of 3 oblong, 

 unequal sepals ; stamens rudiments 3, cucullate opposite the sepals ; 

 achenium roughened, opaque, ovate, erect, nearly naked. — ® Smooth, 

 stingless, with opposite lvs., united stipules and dense, axillary clusters, 

 both kinds mixed. 



P. piSmila Gr. Aiscending, weak, succulent ; lvs; on long petioles, rhombic- 

 ovate, crenate-serrate, membranous and glabrous, 3- veined ; fls. in short clusters ; 

 S sepals slightly unequal. — (D In waste places, about buildings and in woods, U. 

 S. and Can. St. fleshy, semi-transparent when growing in shades, smooth and 

 shining, 3 to 18' long, simple or branched. Lvs. pale green, 1 to 2' by 8 to 16", 

 petioles of about the same length. Sep. much shorter tlian the greenish, mottled 

 achenium, one of them a little longer than tho other two. Jl. — Sept (Urtica, 

 L. Adice, Raf) 



4. BCEHME'RIA, Jacq. False Nettle. (Named for G. F. Boekmer, 

 a German botanist.) Flowers § or ,? ? . $ Calyx 4-parted, with lan- 

 ceolate, acute segments ; stamens 4 ; ? calyx tubular, truncate or 4- 

 tootbed, persistent and closely investing tho ovate, pointed achenium. 

 — Herbs or shrubs, stingless. Lvs. opposite or alternate. Fls. clus- 

 tered. 



1 B. cylindrlca Willd. Herbaceous, dioecious, smooOiish; lvs. opposite, ovate, 

 .Tcuminate, dentate, on long petioles ; sterile spikes inten-upted,'fertile oylmdrie. — 

 A coarse, nettle-like plant, in swamps and bottoms, Mid. and W. States. St 

 slender, obtusely 4-angled, channeled on each side, 2 to 3f high. Lvs. 3-veined, 

 3 to 5' long, lialf as wide, petioles 2 to 3', the upper sometimes not quite opposite. 

 Fls. minute, tho fertile spikes 1 to 2' in length, the barren spikes longer and more 

 slender. Jl., Aug. (Urtica oapitata L 7) 



2 B. lateriCdra Muhl. Whole plant rongh-pubescent, monoecious; lvs. ali alter- 

 nale, ovate-lanceolate, long-aeumraa»e, dentate, rounded and sobpeltata at bas^, on 



