Urticaceae Juss.
EOL Text
Annual or perennial herbs, shrubs or small trees, monoecious or dioecious, sometimes with stinging hairs. Stipules usually present. Leaves alternate or opposite, simple or lobed, usually strongly 3-veined from the base. Cystoliths generally present. Inflorescences usually cymose, densely clustered. Flowers minute, unisexual, with 1 whorl of tepals. Ovary superior with 1 erect basal ovule.
Foodplant / sap sucker
Orthotylus ochrotrichus sucks sap of Urticaceae
Other: major host/prey
Foodplant / sap sucker
nymph of Plagiognathus arbustorum sucks sap of Urticaceae
Remarks: season: 5-7
Other: major host/prey
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Leaves protect from herbivory: Australian stinging tree
The leaves of the Australian stinging tree and other plants protect themselves from herbivory with venomous stinging hairs.
"There are even more ferocious stingers elsewhere in the world. Tropical Australia has three different species. Some are low bushes. One is a tree that can grow to fifty feet tall. A traveller failing to recognise the large and characteristic heart-shaped leaves and brushing past them is likely to be so badly stung that he may have to be taken to hospital. The poison, like that of the nettle, contains histamine but also other as yet unidentified venoms that cause an intense pain which can last for weeks. There is no known antidote." (Attenborough 1995:65-66)
Learn more about this functional adaptation.
- Attenborough, D. 1995. The Private Life of Plants: A Natural History of Plant Behavior. London: BBC Books. 320 p.
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Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:982
Specimens with Sequences:1142
Specimens with Barcodes:680
Species:311
Species With Barcodes:303
Public Records:640
Public Species:266
Public BINs:0
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 0
Specimens with Barcodes: 2
Species With Barcodes: 1
Urticaceae /ɜrtɨˈkeɪsiː/, the nettle family, is a family of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus Urtica. The Urticaceae include a number of well-known and useful plants, including the aforementioned nettles, ramie (Boehmeria nivea), māmaki (Pipturus albidus), and ajlai (Debregeasia saeneb).
The family includes about 2600 species, grouped into 54 to 79 genera according to the database of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The largest genera are Pilea (500 to 715 species), Elatostema (300 species), Urtica (80 species), and Cecropia (75 species).
Urticaceae can be found worldwide, apart from the polar regions.
Contents
Description[edit]
Urticaceae can be shrubs (e.g. Pilea), lianas, herbs (e.g. Urtica, Parietaria), or, rarely, trees (Dendrocnide, Cecropia). Leaves are usually entire and bear stipules. Urticating (stinging) hairs are often present. Urticaceae have usually unisexual flowers and can be both monoecious or dioecious. They are wind-pollinated. Most disperse their pollen when the stamens are mature and their filaments straighten explosively, a peculiar and conspicuously specialised mechanism.
Taxonomy[edit]
The APG II system puts the Urticaceae in order Rosales, while older systems consider them part of Urticales, along with Ulmaceae, Moraceae, and Cannabaceae. APG still considers "old" Urticales a monophyletic group, but does not recognise it as an order on its own.
Genera (partial list)[edit]
Diseases[edit]
The Urticaceae are subject to many bacterial, viral, fungal and nematode parasite diseases. Among them are:[3]
- Bacterial leaf spot, caused by Xanthomonas campestris which affects Pellionia, Pilea and other genera
- Anthracnose, a fungal disease caused by Colletotrichum capsici which affects the Pilea
- Myrothecium leaf spot, a fungal disease caused by Myrothecium roridum which affects plants throughout the Urticaceae, as well as other angiosperms[4][5]
- Phytophthora blight, a water mold disease caused by Phytophthora nicotianae which affects the Pilea
- Southern blight, a fungal disease caused by Sclerotium rolfsii which affects both Pellionia and Pilea
Image gallery[edit]
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Pilea cadierei
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Pilea pumila
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Dendrocnide sp.
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Elatostema umbellatum
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Urtica dioica
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Boehmeria nivea
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Parietaria judaica, flowers
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Urtica dioica, stinging hairs
References[edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Urticaceae. |
- ^ Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) (2003-01-17). "Family: Urticaceae Juss., nom. cons.". Taxonomy for Plants. USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program, National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. Retrieved 2008-04-24.
- ^ "Metatrophis F. Br.". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-03-11.
- ^ "Common Names of Plant Diseases: Diseases of Foliage Plants (House Plants): Urticaceae". The American Phytopathological Society. 26 March 1993. Archived from the original on 30 November 2011.
- ^ Chase, A. R. (1983). "Influence of host plant and isolate source on Myrothecium leaf spot of foliage plants". Plant Disease 67 (6): 668–671. doi:10.1094/PD-67-668.
- ^ Nguyen, Thu Ha, Mathur, S. B., & Neergaard, Paul (1973). "Seed-borne species of Myrothecium and their pathogenic potential". Transactions of the British Mycological Society 61 (2): 347–354, IN14–IN16. doi:10.1016/S0007-1536(73)80156-1.
Further reading[edit]
- Pignatti, Sandro (1982). Flora d'Italia (in Italian). Bologna: Edagricole. ISBN 88-506-2449-2.
- Friis, Ib (1989). Urticaceae. Flora of tropical East Africa. Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 978-90-6191-352-8.
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