Boehmeria cylindrica (False Nettle)

Boehmeria cylindrica

Boehmeria cylindrica (L.) Sw.

Boehmeria austrina Small

Boehmeria cylindrica (L.) Sw. var. drummondiana (Weddell) Weddell

Boehmeria cylindrica (L.) Sw. var. scabra Porter

Boehmeria decurrens Small

Boehmeria drummondiana Weddell

Boehmeria scabra (Porter) Small

Urtica cylindrica L.

False Nettle

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Urticales	Includes cannabis, nettles, mulberries, elms, others
Family	Urticaceae	Nettle family
Genus	Boehmeria	After Georg(e) Rudolf Boehmer (1723-1803) of Saxony, professor of botany and anatomy at the University of Wittenberg
Species	cylindrica	Cylindrical

About plant names...

False nettle is a native North American species. The name comes from is resemblance to stinging nettle, although it is not related, and lacks the stinging hairs of its namesake.

Identification: Plants are 4-63" (10-160 cm) high, and favor shady wooded areas. Stems are smooth, without the irritating hairs of stinging nettle. Leaves are usually opposite or nearly so. They are roughly egg-shaped, with sharp tips and teeth. (More precisely, they are elliptic, lanceolate to broadly ovate.) The leaves are 1¾-7" (5-18 cm) × ¾-4" (2-10 cm). The unusual flowers are the most unique feature of this species. They occur on straight spikes that emerge from the stem, in clusters of small, inconspicuous green flowers. Each spike is often tipped by a couple of small leaves. Blooms July-August. The flowers are dioecious—each plant contains only male or female flowers. Fruits are spiky little balls.

Online References:

Boehmeria cylindrica on Missouriplants.com

Boehmeria cylindrica at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Boehmeria cylindrica on the USDA Plants Database

Boehmeria cylindrica on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Boehmeria cylindrica on eFloras

References:

Clemants, Steven; Gracie, Carol, Wildflowers in the Field and Forest, Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 244