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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE NETTLE FAMILY | |||||||||
| In Saskatchewan, all three members of the nettle family are herbs. Two of those species have stinging hairs that cause a rash in some people. The sharp tip of the hair enters the skin and breaks off, injecting irritating fluid beneath the skin. Male, female, or bisexual flowers are in branched clusters; these clusters often are then arranged into a larger branched cluster called a panicle. The male and female flowers can be on the same or on separate plants. The male flowers have four or five, yellowish or greenish tepals and four or five stamens. The female flowers have two to four tepals and may have sterile stamens. The fruit is single-seeded. | |||||||||
| COMMON NAME | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Laportea canadensis | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Canada wood-nettle grows as tall as 150 cm from tuberous roots. The stem and leaves have both stinging and non-stinging hairs. The leaves are alternate and have a saw-toothed margin. The male and female flowers are on the same plant with the female flowers in clusters near the top of the plant and the male flowers below. The flowers are small and greenish. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Canada wood-nettle grows in moist, shaded, river floodplains. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in southeastern Saskatchewan in the Moist Mixed Grassland and Aspen Parkland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Canada wood-nettle is threatened because it is rare or uncommon in Saskatchewan. This species is regionally restricted to the southeastern corner of the province. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY CANADA WOOD-NETTLE | |||||||||
| * Do the stems and leaves have both stinging and
non-stinging hairs? * Are the leaves oval with saw-toothed margins? * Are the leaves alternate? * Did you find it in southeastern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
| If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found Canada wood-nettle! | |||||||||
