''Laportea canadensis'', commonly called Canada nettle or wood-nettle, is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant of the nettle family

Urticaceae The Urticaceae are a family, the nettle family, of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus ''Urtica''. The Urticaceae include a number of well-known and useful plants, including nettles in the genus ''Urtica'', ramie (''Boehmeri ...

, native to eastern and central North America. It is found growing in open woods with moist rich

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

s and along streams and in drainages.

Description

''Laportea canadensis'' grows from tuberous

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the sur ...

s to a height of 30 to 150 centimeters, and can be rhizomatous, growing into small clumps. Plants have both stinging and non-stinging hairs on the

foliage A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

and the

stem Stem or STEM may refer to: Plant structures * Plant stem, a plant's aboveground axis, made of vascular tissue, off which leaves and flowers hang * Stipe (botany), a stalk to support some other structure * Stipe (mycology), the stem of a mushro ...

s. It has whitish green flowers, produced from spring to early fall. Unlike its cousin, the

common nettle ''Urtica dioica'', often known as common nettle, burn nettle, stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting) or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Or ...

, ''Laportea canadensis'' has alternate leaves. The bulk of its foliage also grows notably high on the stem.

Sting

When the stinging nettles come in contact with the skin, the unlucky individual is dealt a painful burning stinging sensation, sometimes with barbs left in the skin. The skin can turn red and blister, and blisters can last for several days.

References

External links

Profile: Wood Nettle (''Laportea canadensis'')
Photos, Drawings, Text. (''Wild Plants of Winnipeg'' from Nature Manitoba) canadensis Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of Western Canada {{urticaceae-stub