| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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Jepson Interchange (more information) |
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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.
Annual or perennial herb, not stinging-hairy
Leaves alternate, 1–8 cm, lanceolate to round, entire; stipules 0; crystals round
Inflorescence head-, spike-, or panicle-like, generally few-flowered; flowers subtended by involucre of 1–3 bracts
Flower: sepals 4, fused below
Staminate flower: stamens 4
Fruit ovoid, shiny
Species in genus: 20–30 species: worldwide
Etymology: (Latin: wall, from habitat of some)
Reference: [Hinton 1969 Sida 3:293–297]
| Introduced |
Perennial 1–8 dm, decumbent to erect
Leaf 11–90 mm, narrowly lanceolate to widely ovate, base tapered to round; tip acuminate to long-tapered
Flower: calyx lobes 2–3.5 mm
Fruit 1–1.5 mm, 0.5–0.9 mm wide, ± black, tip acute
Ecology: Waste places
Elevation: generally < 100 m.
Bioregional distribution: Central Coast, South Coast
Distribution outside California: native to Eurasia, n Africa
Often invasive in coastal urban settings.