Scientific Family
Urticaceae
Other common names
California pellitory
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Annual or perennial
Height
1 to 22 inches
Riparian
Yes
Erect or spreading stems form a mat or dense tangle; alternate leaves varying in shape from oval to round; seedhead is a cluster of flowers emerging from leaf axil; flowers have no petals.
Simple or branched, may form mat; leaf base rounded, tip pointed, bright green, pair of lateral veins along the leaf surface; flower small, 4 green sepals, that may be tinged yellowish or reddish-brown, 1 to 3 bracts, few-flowered clusters in leaf axils.
Habitat
Found in shaded and moist places in deserts, woodlands, rock crevices, sand dunes, roadsides and sometimes in disturbed areas.
Plant Community
Riparian
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
0
High elevation
4500
Flower Characteristics
1/16 to 1/4 inch long bracts below flower; pointed; bracts shorter than or exceeding the sepals; flower has no petals only green sepals, which are sometimes tinged yellowish or reddish-brown.
Flower color
Green, yellowish, reddish brown
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
Yes
First bloom month
March
Last bloom month
June
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Stems freely branched; leaves narrow or broad oval, oblong or circular; to 1-1/2 inches long and to 1 inch wide; leaf base thin, pointed or rounded; leaves round or slender, tips pointed.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Smooth
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
None
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Symmetrical; 1/16 inch long, 1/16 inch wide; shiny, hard and bony; oval; stemmed and enclosed by sepals and petals.
Fruit type
Achene
Fruit color
Light brown