Laportea canadensis

Native

Moderate moisture. Woods, forests.

July to August

Green

16″ to 40″

This is a 16″ to 40″ tall, erect, annual or perennial forb that rises from a rhizome and tuberous roots. It often forms dense colonies.

The stems are erect, light green or medium green, zigzagged, and unbranched. They are sparsely or densely covered with stinging hairs and non-glandular, non-stinging hairs, but they have no glandular hairs.

The leaves are alternate, broadly egg-shaped, 3″ to 6″ long, and 1″ to 4″ wide. They are on leaf stalks that are up to 4″ long and covered with stinging and non-stinging hairs. They taper to a point at the tip with concave sides along the tip. They are rounded, squared off, or broadly wedge-shaped at the base, but do not have ear-like lobes at the base. The margins have sharp, forward-pointing teeth. The upper surface is medium to dark green, the lower surface is a little lighter in color. Young leaves appear wrinkled and are densely covered with both stinging and non-stinging hairs. As they age they become less wrinkled and less hairy.

Both male and female flowers are found on the same plant. The female inflorescences are elongated, loose, branched clusters at the end of the stem and rising from the upper leaf axils. They are widely spreading and up to 4″ long, usually much longer than the subtending leaf stalks. The male inflorescences are elongated, branched clusters rising from the middle leaf axils. They spread outward from the stem and are seldom longer than the subtending leaf stalks.

The male flowers are 1 ⁄32″ to 1 ⁄16″ across, with 5 narrow, greenish-white to white sepals, no petals, and 5 stamens. The female flowers are 1 ⁄32″ to 1 ⁄16″ across, with 2 large, green, appressed, inner sepals, 2 much smaller, green, appressed, outer sepals, no petals, and a long, feathery, D-shaped style.

The fruit is an egg-shaped achene, 1 ⁄16″ to 3 ⁄32″ in diameter.

Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica ssp. gracilis) leaves are opposite, narrower, and drooping.

Small-spike false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica) has no stinging hairs. The leaves are opposite.