| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
Annual to (soft-wooded) trees, glabrous or stinging-hairy, monoecious or dioecious
Leaves alternate or opposite, generally stipuled, petioled, often with embedded crystals
Inflorescence various, axillary
Flowers generally unisexual, small, greenish; sepals generally 4–5, free to fused; petals 0
Staminate flower: stamens generally 4–5, opposite sepals, in bud incurved, then springing out
Pistillate flower: ovary 1, superior, chamber 1, style 0–1, stigma 1, generally hair-tufted
Fruit: generally achene (drupe)
Genera in family: 50 genera, 700 species: worldwide; some cultivated (Boehmeria ; Pilea , clearweed)
Reference: [Miller 1971 J Arnold Arb 52:40–68]
Wind-pollinated.
Species in genus: 1 sp
Etymology: (Capt. J.F. Soleirol, collector especially in Corsica, 1791–1863)
| Introduced |
Annual 2–30 cm, ± mat-forming, not stinging-hairy
Leaves alternate, 3–8 mm, oblong to ± round, oblique, entire; crystals generally elongate
Inflorescence: flowers solitary, subtended by 3 winged bractlets; lower flowers pistillate, upper flowers staminate
Staminate flower: sepals 4, ± free; stamens 4
Pistillate flower: sepals fused
Fruit: achene, 0.8–1 mm, ovoid, shiny, enclosed by calyx and bractlets
Chromosomes: 2n=20
Ecology: Damp, shaded waste places, gardens
Elevation: generally < 100 m.
Bioregional distribution: Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, South Coast, s Channel Islands
Distribution outside California: Baja California; native to Corsica, Sardinia
Synonyms: Helxine soleirolii Req