Urtica gracilis

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Urtica gracilis
Urtica dioica gracilis (5107357421).jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Urticaceae
Genus: Urtica
Species:
U. gracilis
Binomial name
Urtica gracilis
Synonyms [1]
  • Urtica dioica subsp. gracilis(Aiton) Selander
  • Urtica dioica var. gracilis(Aiton) Roy L.Taylor & MacBryde

Urtica gracilis, commonly known as the slender nettle, tall nettle, or American stinging nettle, is a perennial plant without woody stems that is well known for the unpleasant stinging hairs on its leaves and stems. [2] It is native to much of the North America from Guatemala northwards and temperate areas of South America. [1] It is easily confused with the visually very similar Eurasian species Urtica dioica and is still listed in some resources as a subspecies of this plant. However, genetic analysis and experiments show that they are genetically distinct.

Contents

Description

Urtica gracilis is a perennial plant, one that regrows for many years, with stems that die back the ground in winter (herbaceous plant). [3] It spreads both by wind borne seeds and by rhizomes, often forming dense stands in favorable conditions. [2] Plants can be between 50 centimeters and 3 meters in height with stems that can be simple or branched. [3] Stems will vary in between being smooth and covered in stiff hairs (glabrous to strigose), but have few of the stinging hairs the plant is known for. [4]

The leaves of Urtica gracilis are variable, elliptic, lanceolate, or ovate, and 6–20 cm long by 2–13 cm across, with a base that can either be rounded or shaped like a heart (rounded to cordate). The leaf edges have coarse teeth, sometimes with smaller teeth within each larger tooth (doubly serrate) and the ends are pointed. [3] The underside of the leaves are covered in the stinging hairs that the species is so well known for, but the upper surface only rarely has a few stinging hairs and is more often smooth or covered in non-stinging fine hairs (puberulent). [4]

Urtica gracilis has a flowering panicle, a much branched flowering stem with multiple flowers on sort stems. The flowers are unisexual, each one only having either female pistils or male stamens. Mostly plants will have both genders of flowers. [4] The flowers are not large or showy. [3]

Taxonomy

The first scientific description of Urtica gracilis was published by William Aiton in 1789. [1] While this was accepted for a time the visual similarity caused botanical sources like George Neville Jones's 1945 Flora of Illinois to only list Urtica dioica. [5] In 2014 the paper "Weeding the Nettles II" was published in the journal Phytotaxa. It showed the North American nettles to be a unified group that is genetically distinct [6] As of 2023 the major botanical source Plants of the World Online (POWO) lists Urtica gracilis as a valid species. However, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS database (PLANTS) continues to list it as the subspecies Urtica dioica ssp. gracilis credited to Sten Selander. [7]

Subspecies

There are 5 recognized subspecies or varieties of Urtica gracilis according to POWO as of 2023. Four of them were formerly recognized at different times as other subspecies, varieties, or species. [1]

Scientific nameAuthoritySynonyms
Urtica gracilis subsp. aquatica(Liebm.) WeigendUrtica aquatica, Urtica mexicana, Urtica serra [8]
Urtica gracilis subsp. gracilisUrtica californica, Urtica cardiophylla, Urtica dioica var. angustifolia, Urtica dioica var. californica, Urtica dioica var. lyallii, Urtica dioica var. procera, Urtica gracilis var. latifolia, Urtica lyallii, Urtica lyallii var. californica, Urtica procera, Urtica strigosissima, Urtica viridis [9]
Urtica gracilis subsp. holosericea(Nutt.) W.A.WeberUrtica breweri, Urtica dioica subsp. holosericea, Urtica dioica var. holosericea, Urtica gracilis var. holosericea, Urtica dioica var. occidentalis, Urtica gracilis f. densa, Urtica gracilis var. densa, Urtica gracilis var. greenei, Urtica gracilis f. greenei, Urtica holosericea, Urtica trachycarpa [10]
Urtica gracilis subsp. incaicaWeigend
Urtica gracilis subsp. mollis(Steud.) WeigendUrtica buchtienii, Urtica dioica var. mollis, Urtica dioica var. diplotricha, Urtica diplotricha, Urtica mollis [11]

Range

Urtica gracilis is native to the Americas and is recorded by POWO as growing in most of North America including every state of Mexico, every province and territory of Canada except Nunavut, and all but four states, Hawaii, Florida, South Carolina, and Arkansas in America. [1] In Central America it is only recorded as growing in Guatemala. In South America it limited to the more temperate areas in the countries of Peru, Chile, and Argentina. [1]

Uses

Culinary

Urtica gracillis has a flavor similar to spinach when cooked. Young plants were harvested by indigenous peoples of the Americas and used as a cooked plant in spring when other food plants were scarce. [12] Soaking stinging nettles in water or cooking removes the stinging chemicals from the plant, which allows them to be handled and eaten without injury. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urticaceae</span> Family of flowering plants

The Urticaceae are a family, the nettle family, of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus Urtica. The Urticaceae include a number of well-known and useful plants, including nettles in the genus Urtica, ramie, māmaki, and ajlai.

<i>Urtica dioica</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Urticaceae

Urtica dioica, often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Originally native to Europe, much of temperate Asia and western North Africa, it is now found worldwide. The species is divided into six subspecies, five of which have many hollow stinging hairs called trichomes on the leaves and stems, which act like hypodermic needles, injecting histamine and other chemicals that produce a stinging sensation upon contact.

<i>Urtica</i> Genus of flowering plants

Urtica is a genus of flowering plants in the family Urticaceae. Many species have stinging hairs and may be called nettles or stinging nettles. The generic name Urtica derives from the Latin for 'sting'.

<i>Lamium</i> Genus of flowering plants

Lamium (dead-nettles) is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae, of which it is the type genus. They are all herbaceous plants native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, but several have become very successful weeds of crop fields and are now widely naturalised across much of the temperate world.

<i>Campanula rotundifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Campanula rotundifolia, the harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. In Scotland, it is often known simply as bluebell. It is the floral emblem of Sweden where it is known as small bluebell. It produces its violet-blue, bell-shaped flowers in late summer and autumn.

<i>Circaea</i> Genus of flowering plants in the willowherb family Onagraceae

The Circaea, or enchanter's nightshades, are a genus of flowering plants in the evening primrose family Onagraceae. About two dozen taxa have been described, including eight species. Plants of the genus occur throughout the temperate and boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Three taxa occur in North America: Circaea alpina, Circaea canadensis, and the hybrid Circaea × sterilis. The generic name Circaea refers to the enchantress Circe from Greek mythology who is said to have used the herb as a charm.

<i>Lamium galeobdolon</i> Species of flowering plant

Lamium galeobdolon (gah-lay-OB-dough-lon), the yellow archangel, is a species of flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae. It is native to Europe and western Asia but it is widely introduced in North America and elsewhere. It is the only species in the genus Lamium with yellow flowers. Another common name for this species is golden dead-nettle. In New Zealand, it is called the aluminium plant or artillery plant. The common names archangel and dead-nettle have been in use for hundreds of years, dating back to at least the 16th century.

<i>Heracleum sphondylium</i> Species of flowering plant in the celery family Apiaceae

Heracleum sphondylium, commonly known as hogweed or common hogweed, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, which includes fennel, cow parsley, ground elder and giant hogweed. It is native to most of Europe, western Asia and northern Africa, but is introduced in North America and elsewhere. Other common names include cow parsnip or eltrot. The flowers provide a great deal of nectar for pollinators.

<i>Lamium album</i> Species of flowering plant

Lamium album, commonly called white nettle or white dead-nettle, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae. It is native throughout Europe and Asia, growing in a variety of habitats from open grassland to woodland, generally on moist, fertile soils.

<i>Pilea pumila</i> Species of flowering plant

Pilea pumila, commonly known as clearweed, Canadian clearweed, coolwort or richweed, is an herbaceous plant in the nettle family (Urticaceae). It is native to Asia and eastern North America, where it is broadly distributed.

<i>Urtica urens</i> Species of flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae

Urtica urens, commonly known as annual nettle, dwarf nettle, small nettle, dog nettle, or burning nettle, is a herbaceous annual flowering plant species in the nettle family Urticaceae. It is native to Eurasia, including the Himalayan regions of Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Sikkim in India and can be found in North America, New Zealand and South Africa as an introduced species. It is reputed to sting more strongly than common nettle.

<i>Anchusa officinalis</i> Western eurasian species in the borage family

Anchusa officinalis, also knowns as common bugloss or common alkanet, is a species of flowering plant in the borage family. It is native to Europe and small parts of western Asia, but has been escaped from cultivation to grow in additional locations in Europe and the Americas. The flowers are noted for their popularity with bumblebees due to a large nectar flow. The plants have been used in traditional medicines, but were falling out of favor by the early 1800s. They are still planted in gardens for their popularity with bees and their blue flowers.

<i>Aconitum columbianum</i> Species of plant

Aconitum columbianum is a species of flowering plant in the buttercup family known by the common names Columbian monkshood or western monkshood.

<i>Triteleia ixioides</i> Species of flowering plant

Triteleia ixioides, known as prettyface or golden star, is a monocotyledon flowering plant in the genus Triteleia. It is native to northern and central California and southwestern Oregon, where it can be found in coastal and inland coniferous forests and other habitat. It is a perennial wildflower growing from a corm. It produces one to two basal leaves up to 50 centimeters long by 1.5 wide. The inflorescence arises on an erect stem up to 80 centimeters tall. It is an umbel-like cluster of several flowers each borne on a pedicel up to 7 centimeters long. The flowers are variable in size, measuring one to nearly three centimeters in length. They are pale to bright yellow, or sometimes purple-tinged white. There are six tepals with darker midveins in shades of green, brown, or purple. The lobes are funnel-shaped and may open flat or somewhat reflexed. The six stamens form a fused tube that protrudes from the corolla; they have broad, flat filaments and whitish, yellowish, or blue anthers.

<i>Urtica dioica <span style="font-style:normal;">subsp.</span> galeopsifolia</i> Subspecies of flowering plant

Urtica dioica subsp. galeopsifolia, the fen nettle or stingless nettle, is a herbaceous perennial plant found in Europe. It is considered to be either a subspecies of stinging nettle, or a species in its own right: Urtica galeopsifolia.

Urtica lalibertadensis is a species of the genus Urtica. It differs from U. leptostachya in its subscandent habit and the deflexed stinging hairs on the glabrous stem, and by the presence of numerous stinging hairs on the perigon of the female flowers and individual stinging hairs on the perigon of the male flower. It is a very abundant species in Peru.

Urtica urentivelutina is a species of the genus Urtica. This species is closely related to U. macbridei, but differs in its much denser and longer indument, especially on the stipules and the presence of stinging hairs on the perigon of the female flowers. The leaves are densely pubescent and also irregularly bullate between the veins, which is a character not found in other Peruvian species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stinging plant</span> Plant with hairs (trichomes) on its leaves or stems

A stinging plant or a plant with stinging hairs is a plant with hairs (trichomes) on its leaves or stems that are capable of injecting substances that cause pain or irritation.

<i>Urtica pilulifera</i> Species of flowering plant

Urtica pilulifera, also known as the Roman nettle, is a herbaceous annual flowering plant in the family Urticaceae.

<i>Lupinus caudatus</i> Species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae

Lupinus caudatus is a widespread species of wildflower in genus Lupinus from western North America known by the common names tailcup lupin and spurred lupin. It is distinctive for the short spur on its purple-blue flowers, for which it is named. Because of its wide distribution and toxicity it commonly causes poisonings of susceptible livestock such as horses, cattle, and sheep, though it is eaten without harm by wild herbivores like deer and elk. It is generally found from the Coastal Ranges and Sierra Nevada Mountains in the west to the Rocky Mountains in the east.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Urtica gracilis Aiton". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)". Ohio Perennial and Biennial Weed Guide. Ohio State University. 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Boufford, David E. (6 November 2020). "Urtica dioica - FNA". Flora of North America. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 Boufford, David E. (5 November 2020). "Urtica dioica subsp. gracilis - FNA". Flora of North America. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  5. Jones, George Neville (1945). Flora of Illinois, containing keys for the identification of the flowering plants and ferns. Indiana: The University Press, Notre Dame. p. 113. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  6. Henning, T.; Quandt, D.; Große-Veldmann, B.; Monro, A.K.; Weigend, M. (2014). "Weeding the Nettles II: A delimitation of 'Urtica dioica L.' (Urticaceae) based on morphological and molecular data, including a rehabilitation of Urtica gracilis Ait.". Phytotaxa. 162 (2): 61–83. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.162.2.1.
  7. Urtica dioica L. ssp. gracilis (Aiton) Seland., USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Profile, 31 May 2023
  8. "Urtica gracilis subsp. aquatica (Liebm.) Weigend". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  9. "Urtica gracilis subsp. gracilis". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  10. "Urtica gracilis subsp. holosericea (Nutt.) W.A.Weber". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  11. "Urtica gracilis subsp. mollis (Steud.) Weigend". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  12. Gregory L. Tilford, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, ISBN   0-87842-359-1
  13. Nyerges, Christopher (2016). Foraging Wild Edible Plants of North America: More than 150 Delicious Recipes Using Nature's Edibles. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 130. ISBN   978-1-4930-1499-6.