Home
Herbs annual, monoecious. Stems straight, branched, 40-100 cm tall; upper stems and petioles sparsely armed with short stinging and pubescent hairs. Stipules ovate-oblong, ca. 4 mm, setulose along rib abaxially, apex 2-cleft 1/2 of length; petiole 3-9 cm; leaf blade ovate or cordate, 5-8 × 4-5.5 cm, herba-ceous, 3-veined, lateral basal pair reaching middle margin, lateral veins 5 or 6 each side of midvein, reaching teeth, both surfaces sparsely armed with short, stinging hairs, base abruptly cuneate or shallowly cordate, margin serrate, apex acuminate; cystoliths botuliform, regularly arranged abaxially along veins. Inflorescences axillary, long spicate, to 25 cm, glomerules at intervals along elongated peduncle consequent upon great reduction of the lateral branches, sparsely armed with minutely stinging hairs. Male flowers pedicellate, in bud ca. 1.2 mm; perianth lobes (3 or)4, connate 1/2 of length, obovate, puberulent, apex corniculate; stamens (3 or)4; rudimentary ovary obpyramidal, 0.5 mm. Female flowers: pedicel to 1.5 mm, not winged; perianth lobes 4, free, unequal, dorsal lobe ovate, concave, ca. 0.4 mm, 2 lateral lobes largest, enclosing the ovary, broadly ovate, ca. 0.4 mm, ventral lobe smallest, triangular ovate, ca. 0.3 mm. Ovary asymmetrically triangular; stigma reflexed, filiform, 3-fid, ca. 0.3 mm. Achene obliquely triangular, compressed, ca. 1.3 mm in diam., with triangular ridge enclosing a warty depression, persistent lateral perianth lobes forming a small basal cup. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Aug-Sep.
Monoecious annual herb to 2 m high, stem woody at base. Leaves: lamina ovate to broadly ovate or ovate-elliptic (often lanceolate when occurring on short lateral shoots), serrate margin, acuminate apex, obtuse or rounded to truncate at base, (5–) 8–13 (–15) cm long, (3–) 4–7 (–8.5) cm wide (smaller leaves, e.g. from c. 2 × 1 cm, with shorter petioles often occur near main stem), chartaceous, sparsely hairy with scattered irritant hairs on upper surface, hairs on lower surface mainly on veins, lateral veins 3–6 pairs, the basal pair ⅔ length of lamina; petiole (3–) 5–8 (–12) cm long (sometimes c. 1 cm+ in some leaves), slender; stipules 3–8 mm long, glabrous. Inflorescence bisexual, paniculate or appearing racemose, to 30 cm long, sometimes at base of stem; side branches solitary, often suppressed; flowers fasciculate on elongated peduncle, pedicellate; tepals 4 (sometimes 3 or 5 in male flowers), 1–1.5 mm long. Male flowers: pedicel to 1 mm long; tepals corniculate; stamens usually 4; pistillode c. 0.5 mm long. Female flowers sessile or subsessile; ovary c. 0.75 mm long; stigma trifid (or bifid, fide Northern Territory Government 2013), reflexed. Achenes sessile, ± ovate in outline, 1.2–1.5 mm long, tuberculate, with a smooth wing-like margin. For more detailed description see Chew (1969: 145–149), Wheeler (1992: 85), Northern Territory Government (2013).
A small herb up to 60 cm high but it can grow to 2m. It has stinging hairs. The stems are woody at the base. The leaves are alternate. They are produced on 3-7 cm long leaf stalks. The leaves are toothed at the edge. The leaves are 8-13 cm long by 4-6 cm wide. They have a papery texture. The flowers are greenish in small clusters. Flowers are of separate sexes but on the same plant. They grow in the axils of leaves on a longish stalk. This stalk can be 10 cm long. The fruit is one celled and dry. It is about 1.5 cm long. It has a smooth wing like edge.
Inflorescences usually bisexual, in axils of upper leaves, or in axils of fallen leaves just above soil level, paniculate, but apparently interrupted-spicate due to reduction of side branches, up to c. 30 cm. long, flowers in cymose clusters c. 10 mm. in diam.
Leaves crowded towards stem apex, 8–12 x 5–7 cm., ovate; apex acuminate; base rounded to truncate; margin finely serrate with 12–15(30) teeth per side; lamina glabrous or puberulent on both sides, with few stinging hairs, lateral nerves 3–6 pairs.
Achenes c. 1.75 mm. long, ovoid, laterally compressed, with a circular ridge surrounding a rugose central part, not stipitate, shed without the perianth.
Male flowers appearing first, pedicels c. 1 mm. long, perianth 1–2 mm. in diam., (3)4-merous, tepals corniculate.
Female flowers pedicellate, pedicels c. 0.5 mm. long, unwinged; ovary compressed, stigma sessile 3-branched.
Stinging hairs few, up to c. 1.5 mm. long, mostly restricted to upper part of the stem.
Petiole 5–8 cm. long, pilose to glabrescent, stinging hairs occasional.
Annual herbs up to c. 1 m. tall, monoecious; stems sparsely branching.
Stipules 3–5 mm. long, linear.
