Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Rosids: Fabids: Rosales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Laportea canadensis
FAMILY
Urticaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Canada Wood-nettle at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
By mid-summer, Laportea often becomes the aspect dominant in rich, moist cove forests of the mountains (especially those with extensive seepage), visually replacing the diverse spring flora. The stinging hairs can penetrate pants made of light-weight or loosely woven fabrics, per Weakley's Flora (2022)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Laportea canadensis
FAMILY
Urticaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Laportea canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Laportea canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 059-01-001:
Laportea canadensis FAMILY Urticaceae
(?) Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Urticastrum divaricatum
COMMON NAME:
Canada Wood-nettle
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_231865936098764
April SC
Jocassee Gorges
Seedlings.
)
JK Marlow jkm090405_029
April Walker County GA
The Pocket on Pigeon Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm120424_528
April Pickens County SC
Jocassee Gorges
Often forms the dominant herbaceous layer in rich cove forests by midsummer, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
Keith Bradley kab_l_canadensis_0703
May Richland County SC
Three Rivers Greenway
)
JK Marlow jkm100730_259
July Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm100730_263
July Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
Leaves alternate, broadly ovate, sharply toothed, 3-6" long, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
Tim Spira tpslcanadensis
July
Flowers in terminal & axillary panicles: the upper female, lower male, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
JK Marlow jkm150808_666
August McDowell County? NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm210824_3059
August Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm210824_3062
August Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
Leaves egg-shaped and coarsely toothed; stem bristly with stinging hairs, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
COMPARE
False Nettle, Wood Nettle and Stinging Nettle
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_091421gsmnp46
September Blount County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm111008_813
October Jackson County NC
Balsam Mountain Preserve
Achenes crescent-shaped, pendulous on winged pedicels, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Laportea canadensis
FAMILY
Urticaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Laportea canadensis
FAMILY
Urticaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Laportea canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Laportea canadensis
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 059-01-001:
Laportea canadensis
FAMILY
Urticaceae
(?)
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Urticastrum divaricatum
796
Forb
Perennial
Monoecious
Habitat: Moist, nutrient-rich forests, seepage swamps, especially abundant in cove forests in the Mountains and bottomlands in the Piedmont. By mid-summer, Laportea often becomes the aspect dominant in rich, moist cove forests of the mountains (especially those with extensive seepage), visually replacing the diverse spring flora, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
IS THE PLANT "ARMED"?
Stinging trichomes present
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Greenish
Staminate flowers=Radially symmetrical; Pistillate=Bilaterally symmetrical
5 sepals in staminate flowers, 4 sepals in pistillate flowers
Petals absent
Unisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Achene
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p137
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p147
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p416
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p467
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p060
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p340
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p050
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p071
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p395
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".