''Urera'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in 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 ...

. It has a

pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''. ''Neotropical'' is a zoogeographic term ...

distribution.Steinmann, V. W. (2005)
Four new neotropical species and a new combination of ''Urera'' (Urticaceae).
''Acta Botánica Mexicana'' (71), 19-43.

Description

''Urera'' are lianas,''Urera''.
Flora Zambesiaca. shrubs, and small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s. Climbing species root along the stems and can reach the crowns of the trees they use for support. Some are spiny. They almost always have

urticating hair Urticating hairs or urticating bristles are one of the primary defense mechanisms used by numerous plants, almost all New World tarantulas, and various lepidopteran caterpillars. ''Urtica'' is Latin for "nettle" (stinging nettles are in the genu ...

s, often on bumps in the epidermis. These are stiff, stinging

trichome Trichomes (); ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a p ...

s with swollen bases. The leaves are variable in shape and venation, and help in the identification of species. Also useful is the varying appearance and arrangement of

cystolith Cystolith (Gr. "cavity" and "stone") is a botanical term for outgrowths of the epidermal cell wall, usually of calcium carbonate, formed in a cellulose matrix in special cells called lithocysts, generally in the leaf of plants. Cystoliths are pr ...

s on the leaf surface. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a divided, branching panicle of flowers. Most species are dioecious, but a few are monoecious. Most species have male flowers with either four or five stamens and

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s. Female flowers generally have four uneven, free to mostly fused tepals. The fruit is an achene covered in orange or red flesh.

Systematics and taxonomy

About 113 species epithets have been published for the genus. Many species have been transferred to other genera, including ''

Boehmeria ''Boehmeria'' is a genus of 47 species of flowering plants in the nettle family Urticaceae. Of the species, 33 are indigenous to the Old World and 14 to the New World; no species is indigenous to both the Old and New Worlds. The species include ...

'', ''

Dendrocnide ''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 ...

'', ''

Girardinia ''Girardinia'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Urticaceae. Its native range is the tropical and subtropical Old World to Russian Far East. It is found in the countries of Angola, Assam, Bangladesh, Burundi, Cameroon, China, ...

'', ''

Gyrotaenia ''Gyrotaenia'' is a genus of plants in the 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 plant ...

'', ''

Laportea ''Laportea'' is a genus of plants in the family Urticaceae. They are herbaceous, either annual or perennial. Like many plants of the Urticaceae, they have stinging hairs. There are stinging and non-stinging hairs on the same plant. The genus was ...

'', and ''

Obetia ''Obetia'' is a genus of dioecious plants in the 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 usefu ...

''. It is not clear how many valid species currently belong in ''Urera'', with estimates ranging from 17''Urera''.
The Plant List. to 75. The genus is not well known, with current knowledge dependent mainly on outdated studies, and there is little agreement regarding its

taxonomy Taxonomy is the practice and science of categorization or classification. A taxonomy (or taxonomical classification) is a scheme of classification, especially a hierarchical classification, in which things are organized into groups or types. ...

. The genus ''Urera'' was first described by

Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré (September 4, 1789 – January 16, 1854) was a French botanist. Biography Gaudichaud was born in Angoulême, to J-J. Gaudichaud and Rose (Mallat) Gaudichaud. He studied pharmacology informally at Cognac and Angoulême, ...

in 1826 in his review of the studies done on

Louis de Freycinet Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet (7 August 1779 – 18 August 1841) was a French Navy officer. He circumnavigated the earth, and in 1811 published the first map to show a full outline of the coastline of Australia. Biography He was born at ...

's voyage of the '' Uranie''. He noted its distinctness, proposing the subtribe Urereae. This was later raised to the rank of

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

, and subsequently merged into Urticeae.Friis, I. (1989): The Urticaceae: a systematic review. ''In'': Crane, P. E. & Blackmore, S. (eds.): ''Evolution, systematics, and fossil history of the Hamamelidae'' (Vol. 2): 285–308. ''Systematics Association Special Volume'' 40B. Oxford Science Publications, Oxford, UK. ''Urera'' was expanded to include the

monospecific genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

''Scepocarpus''. Analysis of '' trnL-F'' chloroplast DNA

sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is calle ...

data suggests that ''Urera'' could be sister to '' Poikilospermum'' within the Urticaceae.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 The ''American Journal of Botany'' is a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal which covers all aspects of plant biology. It has been published by the Botanical Society of America since 1914. The journal has an impact factor of 3.038, as of 2019 ...

'' 93(3): 426-41. No botanical monographs have been devoted to ''Urera'' since 1869. Knowledge of the systematics of the genus has accumulated mainly from new descriptions of species and floristic accounts. urera-caracasana-berries

Selected species

Species include: *'' Urera acuminata'' *'' Urera aurantiaca'' *''

Urera baccifera ''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 guêpe ...

'' ( L.) Gaudich. ex Wedd., 1852 – guaritoto, scratchbush *'' Urera cameroonensis'' *'' Urera capitata'' *'' Urera caracasana'' ( Jacq.) Gaudich. ex

Griseb. August Heinrich Rudolf Grisebach () was a German botany, botanist and phytogeography, phytogeographer. He was born in Hannover on 17 April 1814 and died in Göttingen on 9 May 1879. Biography Grisebach studied at the Lyceum in Hanover, the clo ...

, 1859 – flameberry *''

Urera elata ''Urera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nettle family, Urticaceae. It has a pantropical distribution.Steinmann, V. W. (2005)Four new neotropical species and a new combination of ''Urera'' (Urticaceae).''Acta Botánica Mexicana'' (71), 19- ...

'' *'' Urera expansa'' ( Sw.) Griseb. *'' Urera glabra'' (

Hook. Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew h ...

Arn. George Arnott Walker Arnott of Arlary (6 February 1799 – 17 April 1868) was a Scottish botanist. Early life George Arnott Walker Arnott was born in Edinburgh in 1799, the son of David Walker Arnott of Arlary. He attended Milnathort Parish ...

) Wedd. – hopue, ''Ōpuhe'' (

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 state ...

) *'' Urera henriquesii'' *'' Urera kaalae'' Wawra – ''Ōpuhe'' (

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

in Hawaii) *'' Urera laciniata'' *'' Urera mannii'' *'' Urera nitida'' *'' Urera repens'' *''

Urera simplex ''Urera'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nettle family, Urticaceae. It has a pantropical distribution.Steinmann, V. W. (2005)Four new neotropical species and a new combination of ''Urera'' (Urticaceae).''Acta Botánica Mexicana'' (71), 19- ...

'' *'' Urera sinuata'' *'' Urera thonneri'' *''

Urera trinervis ''Urera trinervis'' (Hochst.) Friis & Immelman is a softly woody dioecious liane, sometimes epiphytic, climbing to 20 m, often to the canopy and hanging in festoons. It is one of some 44 species of ''Urera'' belonging to the nettle family Urtic ...

'' (

Hochst. Christian Ferdinand Friedrich Hochstetter (16 February 1787 – 20 February 1860) was a German botanist and Protestant minister. Biography Hochstetter was born in Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg. He was the father of geologist Ferdinand H ...

) Friis & Immelman, 1987 *'' Urera verrucosa'' – ''chichicastle'', ''mala mujer''

Description

Systematics and taxonomy

Selected species

References

Further reading