Parietaria pensylvanica (Pellitory) - photos and description
General: Weak-stemmed annual plants with a decumbent to erect growth habit. Stems pubescent. I've only seen this plant a few times and on each occasion it was growing in patches of dozens/hundreds of plants. Is a nuisance weed in our garden.
Flowers: Flowers axillary, sticky to touch, inconspicuous, the flowers have no petals, the calyx is green-coloured. Flowers pubescent.
Leaves: Leaves alternate, cauline, elliptical; leaf highlighted in photo above was 45 mm long by 15 mm wide. Leaf undersides puberulent, particularly noticeable on veins.
Height: Height listed in Budd's Flora to 50 cm, I measured stems to 25 cm long.
Habitat: Shady woods and stream banks.
Abundance: Uncommon.
Origin: Native.
When and where photographed: These photos were taken July 14th, shady aspen groves, parklands, about 40 km east of our home in Regina, SK.