FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
On the glossy leaves, look for unbranched center vein and three curving major veins.
Description: Annual herb with glossy leaves and translucent stems, up to 0.5 m.
Leaves: Opposite, ovate, toothed leaves with 3 prominent veins. Leaves shiny on upper side and 4 to 10 cm long, produced on long petioles.
Flowers/Fruit: Greenish-white flowers in a branched panicle arising from the leaf axil. Blooms August/September; fruits September to November.
Habit and Range: Often in dense colonies in wet soil or shallow freshwater margins, low, shady pastures or moist, shady uplands across the state. Less common in southern half of the Coastal Plain.
COMMON CONFUSIONS:
Leaves of Pilea pumila (Canadian clearweed) are similar to Boehmeria cylindrica (false nettle) which grows much taller, has dull leaves, and flowers in cylindrical, unbranched spikes.
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