Tragia brevipes Pax

A perennial, monoecious pubescent and setose usually strongly urticating sometimes erect but usually straggling or twining and scandent herb or shrub up to 4.5 m. but more often ± 1 m. high, the stems arising from a woody stock and twining anticlockwise, sometimes the petioles also twining.. Petiole (0.5–)1–6(–10) cm. long; blade ovate, occasionally ovate-lanceolate, (2–)4–10(–14) cm. long, (1–)3–7(–8.5) cm. wide, acutely acuminate, deeply and narrowly cordate, sharply serrate, membranaceous, 5–7(–9)-nerved from the base, lateral nerves 4(–6) pairs, not or scarcely prominent above, slightly so beneath, sparingly pubescent and with a few scattered stinging hairs towards the base above, sparingly, evenly or densely pubescent or sometimes almost tomentose with stinging hairs along the midrib and main nerves beneath, bright green above, paler beneath.. Stipules narrowly lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, (3–)4–6.5 mm. long, acute, sparingly to evenly pubescent, somewhat reflexed.. Inflorescences leaf-opposed, rarely lateral or axillary, (1.5–)4–10(–14) cm. long, the peduncles 0.5–4 cm. long, fairly lax-flowered, usually distally ♂ with (1–)2(–4) ♀ flowers below, rarely some inflorescences all ♂; axis evenly to densely pubescent, sometimes sparingly setose; ♂ bracts linear to linear-lanceolate, 1.5–2(–2.5) mm. long, acute, pubescent without, glabrous within, later becoming reflexed, 1(–2)-flowered; bracteoles ± subulate, ± 1 mm. long; ♀ bracts 3–4 mm. long, and bracteoles 2 mm. long, otherwise as in ♂.. Male flowers: pedicels 1.3 mm. long, sparingly pubescent; buds trigonous, sparingly pubescent; calyx-lobes broadly ovate-suborbicular, 1.3 mm. long and wide, minutely apiculate, sparingly pubescent without, glabrous within, greenish white; stamens 0.5 mm. long, filaments stout and squat, pale green, anthers 0.3 mm. across, yellow; pistillode shortly columnar, sharply triquetrous.. Female flowers: pedicels 0.5 mm. long, extending to ± 5 mm. long in fruit, stouter than those of ♂, densely pubescent; calyx-lobes 6, in 2 series of 3, those of the outer whorl 2.5 mm. long and wide, those of the inner slightly smaller, accrescent to 1–1.4 cm. long and 0.5–0.8 cm. wide in fruit, the outer ovate, the inner ovate-lanceolate in outline, with (2–)3–4(–5) subulate to linear-falcate and somewhat flexuous lobules on each side and a terminal linear-lanceolate one, the lobules much longer than the width of the rhachis, rhachis pubescent without, ± glabrous within, the lobules pubescent without and within and densely hirsute on the margin, later becoming densely fulvous to ferruginous setose, the rhachis brownish green without, stramineous within, the lobules yellowish green; ovary trilobate, the keels opposite the inner whorl of calyx-lobes, 1.5 mm. diameter, densely pubescent, and densely setose on the keels, pale green; styles 3, 3.5 mm. long, united for ± two-thirds their length, the free parts spreading and slightly recurved at the apex, dull green, the stigmatic surfaces rugulose, yellowish green.. Fruits trilobate, 4–5 mm. long, 8–9 mm. diameter, evenly pubescent and hirsute, and setose on the keels, greenish-yellow at first, later becoming dull pale brown.. Seeds 3.5–4 mm. diameter, minutely papillose, pale grey, flecked and mottled with dark reddish brown.

It is a tropical plant. It grows in the understorey in forests along rivers. It also grows near lakes on Kalahari and. In southern Africa is grows from 90-1,800 m altitude.

Can be grown by seedlings.