''Tragia durbanensis'', the stinging nettle creeper, is a twining herb in the family

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

,Pooley, E. (1998). ''A Field Guide to Wild Flowers; KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Region''. . with a restricted distribution in

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

.Swaziland's Flora Database: ''Tragia glabrata'' (Müll.Arg.) Pax & K.Hoffm. var. ''glabrata'': http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/speciesinfo.asp?spid=1670, retrieved 1 March 2011.

Distribution and habitat

It is native to the coastal areas of

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

and eastern coastal areas of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. These plants are found in dune forest,JSTOR PLANT SCIENCE: Entry for ''Tragia glabrata'' var. ''glabrata'' amily EUPHORBIACEAE http://plants.jstor.org/flora/fz7111, retrieved 1 March 2011. in woodland and on forest margins.

Description

A much-branched climbing

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

herb, with twining stems up to 2.5 m originating from a woody rootstock.JSTOR PLANT SCIENCE: Entry for ''Tragia glabrata'' Müll. Arg. Pax & K. Hoffm. amily EUPHORBIACEAE http://plants.jstor.org/flora/fz7110, retrieved 1 March 2011. The leaves are hairless or thinly hairy with serrated margins. The hairs sting fiercely. Inflorescences are up to 5.5 cm long with peduncles up to 2 cm long. The inflorescences are composed mostly of tiny male flowers with 1–2 female flowers below or else all male.

Synonyms

*''Tragia capensis'' E.Mey. ex Sond. llegitimate name*''Tragia glabrata'' (Müll.Arg.) Pax & K.Hoffm. llegitimate name*''Tragia glabrata var. hispida'' Radcl.-Sm. *''Tragia meyeriana var. glabrata'' Müll.Arg.

Ecological significance

This species is one of the larval foodplants of four species of butterfly; ''

Eurytela hiarbas ''Eurytela hiarbas'', commonly known as the pied piper, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its wingspan is 45–50 mm in males and 48–55 mm in females. It has continuous broods, peaking between No ...

'', ''

Eurytela dryope ''Eurytela dryope'', the golden piper, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, found in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and Madagascar. Description Wingspan: 40–50 mm in males and 45–55 mm in females. The male and fema ...

'', ''

Byblia ilithyia ''Byblia ilithyia'', the spotted joker or joker, is a species of Nymphalidae, nymphalid butterfly found in parts of Africa and Asia. Description Wet-season form in Asia The male has the upperwings of a deep rich orange. The forewing has the ...

'' and ''

Byblia anvatara ''Byblia'' is a genus of nymphalid butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspic ...

''.Williams, M. (1994). ''Butterflies of Southern Africa; A Field Guide''. Southern Book Publishers. .

Gallery

File:Tragia_glabrata_female_flower_04_02_2011.JPG, Female flower File:Tragia_glabrata_fruit_04_02_2011.JPG, Fruit viewed from the side File:Tragia_glabrata_fruit_front_04_02_2011.JPG, Fruit viewed from the front

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15384902 durbanensis