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Electronic Flora of South Australia species Fact Sheet

Family: Urticaceae
Parietaria debilis

Citation: Forster f., Fl. Insul. Aust. Prod. 73 (1786).

Synonymy: Freirea australis Nees in Lehm., Pl. Preiss. 1:638 (1845); P. debilis Forster f. var. australis (Nees)J. Black, Fl. S. Aust. 157 (1924).

Common name: Shade (or forest) pellitory, smooth (or soft) nettle.

Description:
Diffuse more or less pubescent annual; leaves thin, ovate, 3-nerved from the base, 1-3.5 cm long, on slender petioles.

Flowers in twin usually 3-flowered axillary cymes, the central flower usually sessile, bisexual and deciduous, with 1 oblong lateral bract; the other 2 pedicellate, bisexual or male, surrounded by 3 free ciliate bracts which are herbaceous and oblanceolate-obtuse or less often ovate with a cordate base; perianth of fruiting flowers finally enlarged but not usually as long as the surrounding bracts, cylindrical, scarious, 2-3 mm long, with papilla-like hairs at least towards the base on the outside; stigma of penicillate hairs, sessile on the ovary and early caducous.

achene compressed, brown, glossy, c. 1.5 mm long; testa membranous.

image of FSA1_Parietaria_deb1.jpg
Image source: fig. 62 in Jessop J.P. & Toelken H.R. (Ed.) 1986. Flora of South Australia (4th edn).
image of FSA1_Parietaria_deb2.jpg
Image source: fig. 62 in Jessop J.P. & Toelken H.R. (Ed.) 1986. Flora of South Australia (4th edn).

Published illustration: Cunningham et al. (1982) Plants of western New South Wales, p. 210.

Distribution:  S.Aust.: NW, LE, NU, FR, EA, EP, NL, MU, YP, SL, KI, SE.   All mainland States.   America; Africa; Eurasia.

Conservation status: native

Flowering time: mainly Aug. — Nov.


SA Distribution Map based
on current data relating to
specimens held in the
State Herbarium of South Australia

Biology: No text

Taxonomic notes: As proposed by J. S. Womersley in J. P. Jessop(1981), Flora of central Australia 17, the variety australis is provisionally placed in synonymy.

Author: Not yet available


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