Witi clearweed (Pilea wightii)

Witi clearweed (Pilea wightii) is a species of plant in the Urticaceae, herbaceous perennial, erect, multi-branched stems, 20-30 cm high, bright green, distal succulent with galls in the middle internodes, grows in shade, forest floor, abandoned lands and roadsides.

P. wightii has leaves with unequal stalks. The strands are oblong, unequal in size, 2-6.5 cm long, 1.5-2.5 cm wide, 3 main veins with many lateral veins. The base is rounded or emarginate, the edges are serrated and the tip is pointed.



Solitary inflorescence, growing in leaf axils, green. Male inflorescence a cymose panicle, stemmed, obovoid bud. Subsessile female flowers.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Urticaceae
Genus: Pilea Lindl. in Coll. Bot.: t. 4 (1821)
Species: Pilea wightii Wedd. in Ann. Sci. Nat., Bot., sér. 4, 1: 186 (1854)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Adicea wightii (Wedd.) Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 622 (1891)
Urtica radicans Wight in Icon. Pl. Ind. Orient. 6: t. 1974 (1853)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Pilea huegelii Blume in Mus. Bot. 2: 53 (1856)

PUBLICATIONS

Pusalkar, P.K., Mao, A.A. & Inge, P. (eds.) (2022). Flora of India 24: 1-688. Botanical Survey of India.

Wu, Z. & Raven, P.H. (eds.) (2003). Flora of China 5: 1-505. Science Press (Beijing) & Missouri Botanical Garden Press (St. Louis).

VERNACULAR NAME

English: Witi clearweed
Indonesian: Witi
Java: Witi
Malayalam: Valiyanarali

Aryo Bandoro
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