Keyed Out #121 — Urtica dioica

Question 1

Brush against stem or leaf and hollow, brittle-tipped hairs snap off in the skin, pumping in a burning brew that raises welts within seconds.

Accepted Answer

nettle family

Question 2

Its tiny green flowers are built for the wind: the inward-curled {stamens} uncoil in a snap and shoot their pollen outward in a visible puff.

Accepted Answer

Urticaceae

Question 3

Its leaves are edged all the way round with coarse, forward-pointing teeth, not smooth-margined and untoothed.

Accepted Answer

Urtica

Question 4

Its leaves are always borne in opposite pairs, two to a node, never set singly and staggered up the stem.

Accepted Answer

Urtica

Question 5

A tall perennial creeping outward on tough underground {rhizomes}, it carries male and female flowers on entirely separate plants.

Accepted Answer

Urtica dioica

Question 6

Its greenish flower clusters hang in long, slender, branching strings rather than gathering into stalked round balls.

Accepted Answer

Urtica dioica