Putnam Park Wildflowers


Flower ID: IMG_4129.JPG-08-21-2022
Flower name (scientific): Boehmeria cylindrica (Linnaeus) Swartz PY: 1788. Pronunciation guide: (phonetic spelling) bo-MEER-ee-ah sil-IN-drih-kah
Flower name (common): Small-spike False Nettle
Family name (common): Nettle
Family name (scientific): Urticaceae
Scientific name origin:
     Genus: Named in honor of the German botanist Georg Rudolf Böhmer (1723 – 1803).
    Specific epithet: For cylindrical, referring to the unbranched flower spikes.
Common name origin: This plant is in the nettle family, but has no stinging hairs, hence false nettle. The flower spikes are relatively short (compared with some other nettles), hence the qualifer small-spike.
Flower description:
     Size: 0.08 to 0.12 inches (2 to 3 mm)
     Petal count: 0 (zero petals) flower appears 4-parted.
     Color: green or greenish-white
     Other: flower arrangement, Spike
Plant description:
     Size: 16 to 40 inches (41 to 102 cm)
     Stem hairy: glabrous or slightly pubescent, stinging hairs are absent.
     Other:
Leaf description: attachment is opposite, type is simple
     Size: Leaves about 5 to 15 cm long and 2 to 8 cm wide.
     Color: Upper surface bright green, lower surface paler green.
     Hairy: Glabrous on both surfaces or minutely hairy on the lower surface.
     Other: Shape: leaf, elliptic, lanceolate to broadly ovate (FNA), ovate or ovate-lanceolate (IL), lanceolate to elliptic, broadly elliptic, ovate, or broadly ovate (MB)
Origin (native, introduced, invasive): Native
Status (common, uncommon, threatened, rare): Uncommon
Bloom time (typical): August to September
Cycle (annual, biennial, perennial): Perennial
Habitat: Forests, woods, meadows, swamps, bogs, marshes, streambanks, moist to wet, semi shade to sun.
Fruit:
Seed: Darker brown colored, 0.6 to 0.8 mm in length, ovoid or suborbicular in shape.
Importance to wildlife:
Similar species (if any): When in flower, no close lookalikes. When not in bloom, the plant has some resemblance to Urtica dioica (Stinging Nettle), but that species has stinging hairs while Boehmeria cylindrica does not. The Pilea species have a slight resemblance, but those are much smaller plants (up to about 50 cm in height), whereas Boehmeria cylindrica is up to 160 cm in height, and the leaves have a different appearance.
Ethnobotany:
Latitude: 44.800017
Longitude: -91.507158
Altitude: 236.00
Distribution: In Wisconsin: (Adams, Brown, Buffalo, Burnett, Calumet, Chippewa, Clark, Columbia, Crawford, Dane, Dodge, Door, Dunn, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Grant, Green, Green Lake, Iowa, Iron, Jackson, Jefferson, Juneau, Kenosha, Kewaunee, La Crosse, Langlade, Lincoln, Manitowoc, Marathon, Marinette, Marquette, Menominee, Milwaukee, Monroe, Oconto, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Portage, Racine, Richland, Rock, Sauk, Sawyer, Shawano, Sheboygan, St. Croix, Taylor, Trempealeau, Vernon, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Waupaca, Waushara, Winnebago, Wood) Click here for distribution map
In US: (AL, AR, AZ, CA, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WI, WV) Click here for distribution map
In Canada: (NB, ON, QC) Click here for distribution map
References:
Synonym(s):
Basionym: Urtica cylindrica Linnaeus Sp. Pl. 2: 984. 1753.
Homotypic Synonym(s): POWO lists 2 homotypic synonyms for this species.
Heterotypic Synonym(s): POWO list 36 heterotypic synonyms for this species.
Autonym: na
Wetland Status (NC): OBL
Wetland Status (MW): OBL