Parietaria pensylvanica (Pellitory) - photos and description

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Origin: Native.

General: Weak-stemmed annual plants with a decumbent to erect growth habit. Stems pubescent. I've only seen this plant a few times and on each occasion it was growing in patches of dozens/hundreds of plants. Is a nuisance weed in our garden.

Flowers: Flowers axillary, sticky to touch, inconspicuous, the flowers have no petals, the calyx is green-coloured. Flowers pubescent.

Leaves:  Leaves alternate, cauline, elliptical; leaf highlighted in photo above was 45 mm long by 15 mm wide. Leaf undersides puberulent, particularly noticeable on veins.

Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 50 cm, I measured stems to 25 cm long.

Habitat: Shady woods and stream banks.

Abundance: Uncommon.

When and where photographed: These photos were taken July 14th, shady aspen groves, parklands, about 40 km east of our home in Regina, SK.