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Stinging Nettle (Japanese)
Laportea bulbifera
ムカゴイラクサ
A perennial herb growing on moist forest floors of mountains. It forms bulbils in leaf axils for vegetative reproduction. Stems and leaves bear stinging hairs that cause intense pain and swelling on contact.
Identification Points
- ✓Conspicuous bulbils in leaf axils
- ✓Stinging hairs on stems and leaves that pierce on contact
- ✓Leaves ovate with pointed tips and coarse serrations
Habitat
Moist forest floors and streamsides of mountains and subalpine zones
Season
August–October (flowers and bulbils)
Morphological TraitsAI-estimated, needs verification
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf type
Simple
Venation
Pinnate
Leaf margin
Serrate
Leaf shape
Ovate
Growth form
Herb
Petal fusion
No petals
Habitat
Forest
Petal count
3 petals
Flower symmetry
Actinomorphic
Phylogenetic Positionイラクサ科 →
Phylogenetic Position
Angiosperms > Eudicots > Core eudicots > Rosids > Rosales > Urticaceae
Divergence Era
Paleogene (approx. 50 million years ago)
Evolution Notes
The stinging hairs of Urticaceae are silica-containing tubular structures whose tips break off to inject venom like a hypodermic needle—a convergently evolved defense against herbivores.
View on evolution timeline →Sources & References
AI-generated, needs verification