Pilea
Encyclopedia
Pilea with 600–715 species is the largest genus in the plant family Urticaceae
and one of the larger genera in the Urticales
and eudicot rosids.
It is distributed throughout the tropics, subtropics, and warm temperate regions (with the exception of Australia
and New Zealand
).
The majority of species are succulent shade-loving herb
s or shrub
s, which are easily distinguished from other Urticaceae by the combination of opposite leaves (with rare exceptions) with a single ligulate intrapetiolar stipule
in each leaf axil and cymose or paniculate inflorescences (again with rare exceptions).
Pilea is of little economic importance; four species are of minor horticultural importance (P. cadierei, P. involucrata, P. microphylla, and P. peperomioides) and one species is used in Chinese traditional medicine (P. plataniflora). The genus has attracted little monographic attention since Weddell
(1869), and the majority of taxonomic contributions have come from floristic treatments. To date, 787 species names have been published (International Plant Names Index, 2003) and estimates for the species number range from 250 to 1000 (C. D. Adams, BM, personal communication). Based on previous floristic treatments ca. 30% of the species from regions not yet covered by contemporary floristic treatments may be undescribed.
The genus name is derived from Latin
pileus, "felt cap", because of the calyx
covering the achene
.http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=125428
Urticaceae
Urticaceae, or the nettle family, is a family of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus Urtica . Urticaceae includes a number of well-known and useful plants, including the aforementioned nettles, Ramie , māmaki , and ajlai .The family includes approximately 2600 species, grouped...
and one of the larger genera in the Urticales
Urticales
Urticales is a botanical name for what used to be an order of flowering plants. Before molecular phylogenetics became an important part of plant taxonomy, Urticales was recognized in many, perhaps even most, systems of plant classification, with some variations in circumscription...
and eudicot rosids.
It is distributed throughout the tropics, subtropics, and warm temperate regions (with the exception of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
).
The majority of species are succulent shade-loving herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
s or shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s, which are easily distinguished from other Urticaceae by the combination of opposite leaves (with rare exceptions) with a single ligulate intrapetiolar stipule
Stipule
In botany, stipule is a term coined by Linnaeus which refers to outgrowths borne on either side of the base of a leafstalk...
in each leaf axil and cymose or paniculate inflorescences (again with rare exceptions).
Pilea is of little economic importance; four species are of minor horticultural importance (P. cadierei, P. involucrata, P. microphylla, and P. peperomioides) and one species is used in Chinese traditional medicine (P. plataniflora). The genus has attracted little monographic attention since Weddell
Hugh Algernon Weddell
Hugh Algernon Weddell was a physician and botanist, specialising in South American flora.Weddell was born at Birches House, Painswick near Gloucester, England but was raised in France and educated at the Lycée Henri IV, where he received a medical degree in 1841...
(1869), and the majority of taxonomic contributions have come from floristic treatments. To date, 787 species names have been published (International Plant Names Index, 2003) and estimates for the species number range from 250 to 1000 (C. D. Adams, BM, personal communication). Based on previous floristic treatments ca. 30% of the species from regions not yet covered by contemporary floristic treatments may be undescribed.
The genus name is derived from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
pileus, "felt cap", because of the calyx
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
covering the achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
.http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=125428
Species include
- Pilea cadiereiPilea cadiereiPilea cadierei is a herbaceous plant about 0.1 to 0.4 meters tall, native to China and Vietnam. It is commonly cultivated as an ornamental plant....
- Aluminium Plant - Pilea cataractaePilea cataractaePilea cataractae is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is endemic to Mauritius. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.-Source:* Florens, D. 2000. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
- Pilea crassifoliaPilea crassifoliaPilea crassifolia is a plant native to Central and South America. One well-known cultivar, grown for its colorful foliage, is P. crassifolia 'Moon Valley'.- External links :* of Moon Valley cultivar from Garden Breizh...
- Pilea depressaPilea depressaPilea depressa is a plant native to the Caribbean.- External links :*...
- Creeping Jenny - Pilea fontanaPilea fontanaPilea fontana is an herbaceous plant which is very similar to Pilea pumila . They can be distinguished by the appearance of the mature achenes....
- Pilea glauca - Silver Sprinkles
- Pilea grandifoliaPilea grandifoliaPilea grandifolia is an undershrub native only to Jamaica. It is sometimes cultivated....
- Pilea involucrataPilea involucrataPilea involucrata is a bushy trailing plant which is sometimes cultivated, especially where high humidity can be provided, such as in a terrarium. It is native to Central and South America.- External links :*...
- Friendship Plant - Pilea jamesoniaPilea jamesoniaPilea jamesonia is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Source:* Valenzuela, J.C., Rojas, W. & Pitman, N. 2004. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
- Pilea laevicaulisPilea laevicaulisPilea laevicaulis is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is endemic to Mauritius. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.-Source:* Tezoo, V. & Strahm, W. 2000. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
- Pilea matama
- Pilea microphyllaPilea microphyllaPilea microphylla also known as Artillery Plant, Gunpowder Plant or brilhantina is an annual plant native to Florida. The plant belongs to the pilea family. It has light green, almost succulent, stems and tiny 1/8" leaves which contribute to its other nickname, "Artillery Fern", though it is not...
- Artillery Plant, Gunpowder Plant - Pilea mollisPilea mollisPilea mollis or the Moon Valley plant is a herbaceous plant that is usually seen as 4-5 inches. It is an South Asian plant that is almost succulent like and thrives in usually high humidity. Needing very little sunlight, this plant blooms little yellow flowers in the summer months and is generally...
- Moon Valley plant - Pilea myriophyllaPilea myriophyllaPilea myriophylla is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland.-Source:...
- Pilea napoanaPilea napoanaPilea napoana is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Source:* Valenzuela, J.C., Rojas, W. & Pitman, N. 2004. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
- Pilea nummulariifoliaPilea nummulariifoliaPilea nummulariifolia is a perennial evergreen herbaceous plant commonly known as creeping charlie native to the Caribbean and northern South America. It can be grown indoors, for example in a hanging pot....
- Creeping Charlie - Pilea peperomioidesPilea peperomioidesPilea peperomioides, known as Chinese Money Plant, Lefse Plant, or Missionary Plant is a plant native to Yunnan Province in southern China...
- Chinese Money Plant, Missionary Plant - Pilea pollicarisPilea pollicarisPilea pollicaris is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is endemic to Mauritius. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.-Source:* Tezoo, V. & Strahm, W. 2000. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
- Pilea pumilaPilea pumilaPilea pumila, known as Clearweed, Canadian clearweed, Coolwort, or Richweed is an annual plant native to most of North America east of the Rockies...
- Canadian Clearweed - Pilea repensPilea repensPilea repens is a plant which is sometimes cultivated, especially where high humidity can be provided, such as in a terrarium. It is native to the West Indies and has dark-colored leaves....
- Black-leaf Panamiga - Pilea riopalenquensisPilea riopalenquensisPilea riopalenquensis is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Source:...
- Pilea schimpfiiPilea schimpfiiPilea schimpfii is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is endemic to the Chimborazo, Napo, El Oro, and Carchi provences of Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes...
- Pilea selbyanorumPilea selbyanorumPilea selbyanorum is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.-Source:...
- Pilea serpyllaceaPilea serpyllaceaPilea serpyllacea is an herbaceous plant native to Venezuela,Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It has been introduced into a number of areas outside its native range, such as Hawaii and the Galapagos....
- Pilea serratifoliaPilea serratifoliaPilea serratifolia is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montanes and subtropical or tropical high-altitude shrubland.-Source:...
- Pilea topensisPilea topensisPilea topensis is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Source:* Valenzuela, J.C., Rojas, W. & Pitman, N. 2004. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
- Pilea trianthemoidesPilea trianthemoidesPilea trianthemoides is a species of shrubs or subshrubs in the Urticaceae family, native to Florida and the Caribbean islands, where it grows in waste places and moist thickets. It flowers year round.- Synonyms :...
- Pilea trichosanthesPilea trichosanthesPilea trichosanthes is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. The natural habitats of Philea trichosanthes are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Source:...
- Pilea trilobataPilea trilobataPilea trilobata is an endemic Mauritian plant from the genus Pilea within the Urticaceae family. It was first described by botanist Hugh Algernon Weddell in 1854. It was thought to be extinct since 1849 until it was rediscovered in April 2005 in the Corps de Garde Nature Reserve....
- Pilea tungurahuaePilea tungurahuaePilea tungurahuae is a species of plant in the Urticaceae family. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montanes.-Source:* Valenzuela, J.C., Rojas, W. & Pitman, N. 2004. . Downloaded on 23 August 2007....
Further reading
- Chen, C. J. (1982). A monograph of Pilea (Urticaceae) in China. Bull. Bot. Res., Harbin 2: 1-132.
- Monro, A.K. (2006). The revision of species-rich genera: a phylogenetic framework for the strategic revision of Pilea (Urticaceae) based on cpDNA, nrDNA, and morphology. American Journal of Botany 93:426-441.