Boehmeria cylindrica (False nettle)

Boehmeria cylindrica (L.) Sw.

False nettle, bog hemp, smallspike 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.

Plants: 4-63" (10-160 cm) high, and favor shady wooded areas. Stems are smooth, without the irritating hairs of stinging nettle.

Leaves: 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).

Flowers: 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. Flowers appear from July to August. The flowers are dioecious—each plant contains only male or female flowers.

Fruits: Spiky little balls.

8/31/2013 · Riverside Park, James River, Midlothian, Virginia
≈ 6 × 9" (15 × 22 cm)

8/27/2016 · Williams Barn and Sørhaug Woods, Groton, Massachusetts

8/31/2013 · Riverside Park, James River, Midlothian, Virginia
≈ 8 × 6" (19 × 15 cm)

See this article by Steve Brill on distinguishing among nettles and related plants. Here are some similar species:

	*Laportea canadensis*	You are here Boehmeria cylindrica	*Acalypha rhomboidea*
Common Name	wood nettle	false nettle	three-seeded mercury
Plant	24-48" (60-121 cm) high. Stems have *stiff white hairs that sting* if you rub against them.	4-63" (10-160 cm) high, and favor shady wooded areas. Stems are smooth, without the irritating hairs of stinging nettle.	6-24" (15-60 cm) tall, with a stem that is *hairless or covered with fine white hairs. Bracts beneath flowers, stems, and leaf undersides turn copper-colored*.
Flowers	Male flower clusters are white or greenish white, in loose branching clusters. Each flower is less than ⅛" (3.2 mm) across, with 5 petals. They appear from July to September.	Flowers *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. Flowers appear from July to August.	Flowers are greenish-tan, and tiny—less than ⅛" (3.2 mm) across. They flower from July to October.
Leaves	Alternate, up to 4" (10 cm) × 6" (15 cm), egg-shaped, with coarse serrations.	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).	Leaves are alternate, lance-like or oval with sharp tips, 3½" (8.9 cm) × 1" (2.5 cm), with blunt serrations.
Fruit	Oblique dry seeds.	Spiky little balls.	A 3-lobed roughly spherical fruit containing 3 seeds.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Moist woods, streambanks, in rich soils	Moist, deciduous woods; wet meadows; swamps, bogs, and mashes	Open woods, moist soils, gravel bars, waste ground, roadsides, railroads.
Type	Wild	Wild	Wild

	*Pilea pumila*	*Urtica dioica ssp. gracilis*
Common Name	clearweed	stinging nettle
Plant	6-24" (15-60 cm) high, with smooth, round, translucent stems. They *do not have stinging hairs*.	24-39" (60-100 cm) high, rarely up to twice that. The entire plant is covered in stinging hairs.
Flowers	Both male and female flowers are on each plant. Fowers are ⅛" (3.2 mm) long, greenish-white or greenish-yellow, hanging in narrow bunches from the axils of the upper leaves.	Plants are monoecious—male staminate flowers appear on the same plants as female pistillate flowers. Male flowers are grayish yellow, with four tepals. Female flowers have four tepals too, but in different-sized pairs. They are gray-green and hairy. The flower clusters resemble catkins.
Leaves	Leaves occur in opposite pairs, each 1-5" (2.5-12 cm) long by ½-2½" (1.3-6.3 cm) wide. Leaves are oval-shaped and coarse-toothed, with three prominent veins and textured leaves. The leaves are bright green, usually shiny, and become yellow in the fall.	Opposite, oblong, cordate, and serrate (with sawtooth edges). They are 1-6" (3-15 cm) long.
Fruit	Tiny green seeds (achenes) sometimes have black stripes.	Each inner pair of tepals encloses a single deltoid to ovoid seed.
Range/ Zones
Habitats	Wet upland or floodplain forests, crevices in rocky canyons, and shady wetlands, streambanks.	River deltas, floodplains, margins of deciduous woodlands, fencerows, and waste places
Type	Wild	Wild

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

7/20/2012 · J. Harry Rich Dirt Road, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 9" (15 × 23 cm)

8/26/2018 · Henry E. Cowdrey Nature Center, Lunenburg, Massachusetts
≈ 4½ × 7" (12 × 18 cm)

7/20/2012 · J. Harry Rich Dirt Road, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm)

8/27/2016 · Williams Barn and Sørhaug Woods, Groton, Massachusetts

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.

Boehmeria cylindrica description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 16 Sep 2020.

8/27/2016 · Williams Barn and Sørhaug Woods, Groton, Massachusetts

8/31/2013 · Riverside Park, James River, Midlothian, Virginia
≈ 7 × 11" (18 × 28 cm)

7/20/2012 · J. Harry Rich Dirt Road, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 9" (14 × 22 cm)

7/20/2012 · J. Harry Rich Dirt Road, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 12 × 9" (29 × 23 cm)

Range:

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