Urena lobata L.

Habit

Erect,annual or perennial herb or shrub

Family Description

Herbs,shrubs,trees or climber; indumentum usually stellate; stems often fibrous. Leaves alternate, simple or lobed, usually palmately 3-7-veined from base, sometimes pinnately veined; stipulate. Monoecious, rarely dioecious; flowers axillary, solitary, or in 2-many-flowered, terminalor axillary racemes or panicles, bisexual, rarely unisexual, actinomorphic; usually subtended by an epicalyx of 3-many, free or connate, segments. Calyx of 4(-5)+/-connate sepals;epicalyx present or absent.Petals 5,free, adnate to base of staminal column.Stamens with filaments united around style into staminal column, bearing pollen throughout or divided at apex into numerous filaments or 5-many-branches.Ovary superior,2-many-celled;style simple or 2-many branched.Fruit a loculicidally dehiscent,rarely indehiscent capsule, or schizocarpic, consisting of 5-many mericarps around a central columella.

Genus Description

Herbs or shrubs, stellate-hairy throughout. Leaves unlobed or shallowly to deeply palmately lobed, palmately veined, with 1-3 linear or elliptic glands at base of veins beneath. Stipules deciduous. Flower bisexual, mostly axillary, solitary or in 1-3 fasicles, sometimes clustred at the ends of branches. Epicalyx of 5 narrowly lanceolate to elliptic segments, connate to middle accrescent iin fruit. Sepals 5, connate to middle; lobes traingular. Petal 5, not clawed. Staminal column with subsessile anther throughout upper half. Ovary 5-celled; style 10-branched near apes; stigmas capitate. Fruit subglobose, of five indehiscent 1-seeded mericarps; each trigonous, ovoid, dorsally convex and covered with hooked bristles.

Species description

Erect, annual or perennial herb or shrub, 0.5-2m. Leaves ovate to orbicular unlobed or shallowly to deeply 5-lobed, 3-11x2-13cm, acute or obtuse, base cordate or rounded, margin serrate, softly pubescent beneath, sparsely pubescent and almost rough above; petioles 1-5(-9)cm; stipules filiform, 2-4mm. Pedicels 2-4mm, lengthening to 5-10mm in fruit. Epicalyx segments 5-6mm. Calyx 6-7mm, withering in fruit. Petals pink, 1-2cm. Staminal column 1-1.5cm. Mericarps 4-6mm, hooked bristles c 2mm.