Pilea melastomoides (Poir.) Wedd.

Species

Angiosperms > Rosales > Urticaceae > Pilea

Characteristics

Herbs perennial, robust or subshrubs, stoloniferous, glabrous, monoecious or dioecious. Stems blue green when dry, to 200 cm tall, ca. 1 cm in diam., succulent distally, woody at base, swollen between nodes, upper internodes shorter. Stipules persistent, triangular, ca. 2 mm, membranous; petiole equal in length, 2-9 cm; leaf blade abaxially pale green, adaxially often dark green or brownish, elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate, subequal in size, 10-23 × 5-16 cm, membranous, 3-veined, lateral veins many, spreading and regularly transverse, cystoliths fusiform, minute, often conspicuous abaxially, base cuneate or rarely subrounded, margin shallowly serrate or crenate, apex cuspidate or acuminate. Inflorescences solitary, male inflorescence a cymose-panicle, 15-35 cm overall, peduncle long and thick; female ones often shorter than petioles. Male flowers subsessile, in bud ca. 1 mm; perianth lobes 4, elliptic, apex acute or sometimes corniculate; stamens 4; rudimentary ovary minute. Female flowers subsessile, in bud ca. 0.8 mm; perianth lobes connate at base, subequal, abaxial lobe larger, subapically corniculate; staminodes 3, scale-like, oblong. Achene brownish, ellipsoid-ovoid, ca. 1 mm, compressed, almost not oblique, smooth or verrucose, with a slightly elevated ring by margin. Fl. Aug-Sep, fr. Oct-Nov.
More
A herb. It is robust and can be erect or curving upwards. It grows 50-200 cm high. The stems are fleshy and often tinged red. The leaves are on unequal length stalks. The leaves are broadly oval or sword shaped and the base is wedge shaped. There are coarse teeth along the edge. The leaves are 5-25 cm long by 3-10 cm wide. They are shiny and dark green above.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support -
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 1.25 - 2.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A tropical plant. In Indonesia it grows between 500-2,700 m above sea level. It grows in humid places. In Yunnan.
Light -
Soil humidity -
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 8-12

Usage

The young leaves are used to flavour food. They are eaten raw or steamed.
Uses food leaf vegetable medicinal
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

It can be grown from cuttings or side branches that have developed roots.
Mode cuttings
Germination duration (days) 14 - 60
Germination temperacture (C°) 18 - 23
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Pilea melastomoides unspecified picture

Distribution

Pilea melastomoides world distribution map, present in Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, India, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Philippines, Taiwan, Province of China, and Viet Nam

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:855573-1
WFO ID wfo-0001223983
COL ID 4HSWZ
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Pilea oreophila Urtica peduncularis Urtica oreophila Pilea pellucida Adicea melastomodes Dubrueilia melastomoides Pilea trinervia Pilea ovatinucula Urtica gibbosa Pilea melastomoides Urtica melastomoides Urtica trinervia Pilea elongata Boehmeria cavaleriei