''Parietaria pensylvanica'', commonly called Pennsylvania pellitory, is a species of flowering plant in the
nettle family. It is native to much of North America including every province in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
except the
Maritimes
The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of Ca ...
and
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
, Yukon Territory, every state in the United States except
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
and
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, plus northern Mexico.
[ It is typically found in circumneutral or basic soils, in natural habitats such as calcareous cliffs and barrens, and in rich floodplains. It is also found disturbed areas.][
It is an annual herb growing decumbent or erect to a maximum height near half a meter. The alternately arranged leaves are lance-shaped or oval with a pointed tip and measure up to 3 centimeters in length. The ]inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
is a cluster of flowers emerging from the leaf axils. The flower lacks petals but it has tiny pointed reddish brown sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...
s.[
File:Parietaria pensylvanica.jpg, Detail of inflorescence
]
References
External links
Jepson Manual Treatment
Photo gallery
pensylvanica
Flora of the United States
Flora of Canada
Flora of Mexico
Plants described in 1806
{{Urticaceae-stub