''Urera baccifera'' is a species of flowering plant in the nettle family known by many common names, including scratchbush, ''ortiga brava'', ''pringamoza'', ''mala mujer'', ''chichicaste'', ''nigua'', ''guaritoto'', ''ishanga'', ''manman guêpes'', and ''urtiga bronca''.''Urera baccifera''.
International Institute of Tropical Forestry. It is native to the Americas from Mexico through Central America into South America, as well as the Caribbean. This species is a

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 ...

or a small tree. It can reach five meters in height. The thin, toothed leaves are up to 25 centimeters long by 12.5 wide. The blades are borne on long petioles. The plant is covered in spines and stinging hairs. The inflorescence is a pink or purple cluster of flowers, and the plant is

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 ...

, with male and female parts on different plants. The spongy, juicy fruit is green or pinkish. The seeds are dispersed by fruit-eating birds and

capuchin monkeys The capuchin monkeys () are New World monkeys of the subfamily Cebinae. They are readily identified as the "Street organ, organ grinder" monkey, and have been used in many movies and television shows. The range of capuchin monkeys includes some t ...

.Dutra, H. P., et al. (2006)
Dual ant attraction in the Neotropical shrub ''Urera baccifera'' (Urticaceae): the role of ant visitation to pearl bodies and fruits in herbivore deterrence and leaf longevity.
''Functional Ecology'' 20 252-60. Urera baccifera inflorescence

This plant grows in moist tropical forests. It is not very tolerant of shade, so it dies back when the

overstory In biology, the canopy is the aboveground portion of a plant cropping or crop, formed by the collection of individual plant crowns. In forest ecology, canopy also refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns an ...

closes. It can be found in forests recently disturbed by fire. In some areas, this plant is one of the first to bear fruit after the damage of a hurricane, and then it becomes an important food source for birds. The fruits also provide food for many species of

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

. The ants also collect pearl bodies which form on the leaves, stems, and stalks of the plant. Ants performing this activity include species in genera such as '' Camponotus'', ''

Pheidole ''Pheidole'' is a genus of ants that belongs to the ant subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus is widespread and ecologically dominant. It probably includes more than 1000 species. The genus first evolved in the Americas, eventually spreading across th ...

'', ''

Crematogaster ''Crematogaster'' is an ecologically diverse genus of ants found worldwide, which are characterised by a distinctive heart-shaped gaster (abdomen), which gives them one of their common names, the Saint Valentine ant. Members of this genus are ...

'', and ''

Pseudomyrmex ''Pseudomyrmex'' is a genus of stinging, wasp-like ants in the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae. They are large-eyed, slender ants, found mainly in tropical and subtropical regions of the New World. Distribution and habitat ''Pseudomyrmex'' is predom ...

''. When ants are present on a plant, they rid it of

lepidopteran Lepidoptera ( ) is an order of insects that includes butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 families and 46 superfamilies, 10 percent of the total described specie ...

larvae which would feed upon it, such as ''

Smyrna blomfildia ''Smyrna blomfildia'', the Blomfild's beauty, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the su ...

'', ''

Urbanus esmeraldus Urbain Servranckx (born 7 June 1949), better known as Urbanus, is a Belgian comedian, actor, singer and comic book writer. Although he is most famous as comedian, some of his songs became hits, such as ''Bakske vol met stro'' (1979), ''Madammen ...

'', and ''

Pleuroptya silicalis ''Patania silicalis'', commonly known as the herbivorous pleuroptya moth, is a species of moth in the subfamily Spilomelinae of the family Crambidae. It was described by Achille Guenée in 1854. It is found in Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, French G ...

''. This provides a benefit for both plant and ant in a mutualistic relationship.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7900413 baccifera Trees of Peru