Pilea pumila (L.) A. Gray Clearweed
Clearweed is a North American native, a member of the nettle family. Plants: Clearweed is 6-24" (15-60 cm) high, with smooth, round stems that are somewhat translucent. These plants resemble other nettles, including stinging nettle, but they lack the hairs that cause the sting. Leaves: 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. Flowers: Both male and female flowers are found on each plant. Individual flowers are ⅛" (3.2 mm) long, greenish-white or greenish-yellow. They drop in narrow bunches from the axils of the upper leaves. Fruits: Tiny green seeds (achenes) sometimes have black stripes. |
8/22/2012 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts 8/22/2012 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts 8/22/2012 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts |
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See this article by Steve Brill on distinguishing
among nettles and related plants.
Here are some similar species:
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Laportea canadensis |
Boehmeria cylindrica |
Acalypha rhomboidea |
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Common Name | ![]() |
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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 |
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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 |
Online References:
The University of Wisconsin's Robert W. Freckmann Herbarium
Southeastern Flora, the Southeastern U.S. Plant Identification Resource
The Vanderbilt University Bioimages web site
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
References:
8/8/2010 · Jeff Smith Trail, Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 4 × 6" (10 × 16 cm) ID is uncertain
10/17/2016 · Ice Glen, Stockbridge, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 10" (16 × 24 cm)
8/22/2012 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 14 cm) ID is uncertain
8/18/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm)
9/27/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 9" (15 × 23 cm) ID is uncertain
8/16/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 10" (16 × 25 cm)
8/18/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm)
Pilea pumila description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 16 Sep 2020.
© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.
9/27/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 8 × 12" (20 × 31 cm) ID is uncertain
10/17/2016 · Ice Glen, Stockbridge, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 4½" (18 × 12 cm)
8/8/2010 · Jeff Smith Trail, Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 7 × 10" (18 × 26 cm) ID is uncertain
8/22/2012 · Squannacook River Wildlife Area, Townsend, Massachusetts
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm) ID is uncertain
9/29/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts
≈ 11 × 8" (28 × 20 cm) ID is uncertain
8/8/2010 · Jeff Smith Trail, Beaver Brook Association Conservation Lands, Rte. 130, Hollis, New Hampshire
≈ 7 × 6" (16 × 15 cm) ID is uncertain
9/27/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Groton Center, Groton, Massachusetts
≈ 6 × 9" (15 × 23 cm) ID is uncertain
Range: