''Dendrocnide'' is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family '' Urticaceae''. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

. In Australia they are commonly known as stinging trees.

Description

Plants in this genus are evergreen

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s or small trees, with the exception of the aptly-named

giant stinging tree ''Dendrocnide excelsa'', commonly known as the giant stinging tree or fibrewood, is a rainforest tree in the family '' Urticaceae'' which is endemic to eastern Australia. It occurs from Tathra, New South Wales to Imbil in southeastern Queensla ...

(''D. excelsa'') which may reach in height. Dendrocnide species have a sympodial growth habit and are armed with fine needle-like stinging hairs. They are generally fast-growing and produce soft wood, and are usually found in areas of disturbed forest where they fill the role of a pioneer species. The leaves are simple, alternate, and

petiolate Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, a ...

, (i.e. having long petioles or leaf-stems), and the leaf blade may be either entire or have some form of dentate toothing (notches or teeth on the edges of the leaf). The leaves are also often large, and may be either leathery or papery. The stipules are fused and deciduous, leaving conspicuous scars on the twigs after falling. The inflorescences are axillary and pedunculate, flowers are either solitary or in

raceme A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

s or

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s. Male flowers may be 4- or 5-merous and the female flowers are 4-merous. Most species are

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, a small number are monoecious. Fruits are an

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

, often compressed, and may be eclosed within the swollen

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

Taxonomy

The genus ''Dendrocnide'' was raised in 1851 by the Dutch physician,

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

, and taxonomist

Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel Friedrich Anton Wilhelm Miquel (24 October 1811 – 23 January 1871) was a Dutch botanist, whose main focus of study was on the flora of the Dutch East Indies. Early life Miquel was born in Neuenhaus and studied medicine at the University of Groni ...

(1811–1871) who dedicated a large part of his life to describing specimens of the flora of the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

which were sent to him by his many contacts. This genus was first published in the work '' Plantae Junghuhnianae'', in which he described three species, namely ''D. peltata'', ''D. costata'' (the original type species that is now known as ''D. stimulans'') and ''D. coerulea''.

Etymology

The name of this genus comes from Ancient Greek '' déndron'' (tree), and '' knī́dē'' (nettle), referring to the large size of most species in this genus.

List of species

The following list shows all 42 species recognised by

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...

, and a brief summary of its distribution. * '' Dendrocnide amplissima'' (Blume) Chew - Maluku Islands,

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

* '' Dendrocnide basirotunda'' (C.Y.Wu) Chew - China south-central,

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, Thailand * ''

Dendrocnide carriana ''Dendrocnide'' is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family '' Urticaceae''. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In Australia they are commonly k ...

'' Chew -

Lesser Sunda Islands The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up t ...

, Maluku Islands, New Guinea, Philippines * '' Dendrocnide celebica'' Chew - Sulawesi * ''

Dendrocnide contracta ''Dendrocnide'' is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family '' Urticaceae''. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In Australia they are commonly k ...

'' (Blume) Chew - Java * ''

Dendrocnide corallodesme ''Dendrocnide corallodesme'', the mango-leafed stinger, is a species of flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae, native to New Guinea and Queensland. It is a rainforest tree reaching , with irritating hairs on its flowers and abaxial l ...

'' (Lauterb.) Chew - New Guinea, Queensland * ''

Dendrocnide cordata ''Dendrocnide cordata'', the stinger, is a species of flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae, native to the Bismarck Archipelago, the Lesser Sunda Islands, New Guinea, and Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Que ...

'' (Warb. ex H.J.P.Winkl.) Chew - Lesser Sunda Islands, New Guinea,

Bismarck Archipelago The Bismarck Archipelago (, ) is a group of islands off the northeastern coast of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean and is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. Its area is about 50,000 square km. History The first inhabitants o ...

* ''

Dendrocnide cordifolia ''Dendrocnide cordifolia'', commonly known as the stinging tree, is a plant in the nettle family Urticaceae endemic to the Atherton Tablelands, south west of Cairns, Queensland. Contact with the plant (like many others in the family) results i ...

'' (L.S.Sm.) Jackes - Queensland * '' Dendrocnide crassifolia'' (C.B.Rob.) Chew - Philippines, Sulawesi * '' Dendrocnide densiflora'' (C.B.Rob.) Chew - Philippines * ''

Dendrocnide elliptica ''Dendrocnide'' is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family '' Urticaceae''. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In Australia they are commonly known ...

'' (Merr.) Chew - Borneo, Philippines * '' Dendrocnide excelsa'' (Wedd.) Chew - New South Wales, Queensland * '' Dendrocnide gigantea'' (Poir.) Chew - Melanesia * ''

Dendrocnide harveyi ''Dendrocnide'' is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family '' Urticaceae''. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In Australia they are commonly k ...

'' (Seem.) Chew - Cook Islands,

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

, Niue, Samoa, Tonga * '' Dendrocnide kajewskii'' Chew - Solomon Islands * '' Dendrocnide kjellbergii'' Chew - Sulawesi * ''

Dendrocnide kotoensis ''Dendrocnide'' is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family '' Urticaceae''. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In Australia they are commonly k ...

'' (Hayata ex Yamam.) B.L.Shih & Yuen P.Yang - Taiwan * ''

Dendrocnide latifolia ''Dendrocnide'' is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family ''Urticaceae''. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In Australia they are commonly known a ...

'' (Gaudich.) Chew - Caroline Islands,

Marianas The Mariana Islands (; also the Marianas; in Chamorro: ''Manislan Mariånas'') are a crescent-shaped archipelago comprising the summits of fifteen longitudinally oriented, mostly dormant volcanic mountains in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, betw ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu * '' Dendrocnide longifolia'' (Hemsl.) Chew - Bismarck Archipelago, Maluku Islands, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Sulawesi * ''

Dendrocnide luzonensis ''Dendrocnide'' is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family '' Urticaceae''. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In Australia they are commonly k ...

'' (Wedd.) Chew - Philippines * ''

Dendrocnide meyeniana ''Dendrocnide meyeniana'' or the poisonous wood nettle is a species of tree in the family Urticaceae, native to the thickets and secondary forests of Taiwan and the Philippines. The specific epithet ''meyeniana'' comes from Meiyuan/眉原, a pl ...

'' (Walp.) Chew - Philippines, Taiwan * '' Dendrocnide microstigma'' (Wedd.) Chew - Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku Islands, Sulawesi * ''

Dendrocnide mirabilis ''Dendrocnide'' is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family '' Urticaceae''. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In Australia they are commonly known ...

'' (Rech.) Chew - New Guinea, Solomon Islands * '' Dendrocnide morobensis'' Chew - New Guinea * '' Dendrocnide moroides'' (Wedd.) Chew - Lesser Sunda Islands, New South Wales, Queensland, Vanuatu * ''

Dendrocnide nervosa ''Dendrocnide'' is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family '' Urticaceae''. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In Australia they are commonly k ...

'' (H.J.P.Winkl.) Chew - New Guinea, Solomon Islands * '' Dendrocnide oblanceolata'' (Merr.) Chew - Borneo, Sulawesi * ''

Dendrocnide peltata ''Dendrocnide peltata'', commonly known simply as the stinging tree or ''jelaton'', is a large tree in the nettle family Urticaceae. With the other species of the genus ''Dendrocnide'', it is known for the stinging hairs which cover the whole p ...

'' (Blume) Miq. - Christmas Island, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, New Guinea * ''

Dendrocnide photinophylla ''Dendrocnide photinophylla'', the shining-leaved stinging tree, is a rainforest tree of eastern Australia. It occurs from near the Colo River northwest of Sydney to Cooktown in tropical Queensland. A versatile species, it occurs in many diff ...

'' (Kunth) Chew - New South Wales, Queensland * '' Dendrocnide pruritivus'' H.St.John - Fiji, Wallis and Futuna * '' Dendrocnide rechingeri'' (H.J.P.Winkl.) Chew - Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, Solomon Islands * '' Dendrocnide rigidifolia'' (C.B.Rob.) Chew - Philippines * '' Dendrocnide schlechteri'' (H.J.P.Winkl.) Chew - Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea, Solomon Islands * '' Dendrocnide sessiliflora'' (Warb.) Chew - Bismarck Archipelago, New Guinea * ''

Dendrocnide sinuata ''Dendrocnide sinuata'' (meaning "tree nettle" with "wavy leaf margin" in Greek) is a poisonous plant called ''pulutus, pulus, stinging tree, fever nettle, or elephant nettle, growing in subtropical wet evergreen forests throughout Asia. Some o ...

'' (Blume) Chew - Nepal to southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and western Malesia including Christmas Island * ''

Dendrocnide stimulans ''Dendrocnide'' is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family ''Urticaceae''. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In Australia they are commonly known a ...

'' (L.f.) Chew - China (Guangdong), Hainan, Taiwan, Indo-China, western and central Malesia * ''

Dendrocnide subclausa ''Dendrocnide'' is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family '' Urticaceae''. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In Australia they are commonly k ...

'' (C.B.Rob.) Chew - Philippines * '' Dendrocnide ternatensis'' (Miq.) Chew - Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku Islands, New Guinea * '' Dendrocnide torricellensis'' (Lauterb.) Chew - New Guinea * '' Dendrocnide urentissima'' (Gagnep.) Chew - Cambodia, south-central and south-east China, Vietnam * '' Dendrocnide venosa'' (Elmer) Chew - Philippines * ''

Dendrocnide vitiensis ''Dendrocnide'' is a genus of approximately 40 species of plants in the nettle family '' Urticaceae''. They have a wide distribution across North East India, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands. In Australia they are commonly k ...

'' (Seem.) Chew - Fiji, New Caledonia, Samoa

References

Notes

{{Taxonbar, from=Q139226 Urticaceae genera Dioecious plants