Thursday, August 27, 2015

Pellitory of the Wall, Parietaria officinalis, sine Wall

This may be more tentative than usual, but at least in the differential diagnosis.   It is in the nettle family but without stinging cells. A tolerant plant sometimes found in walls, thus the name.  It looks similar to some Amaranth species.

 Some in the group of plants are very allergenic, "the asthma weed", and the allergy may extend to some of those who would consume the plant.  The whole plant has been used to clean glass and copper.

This photo was north side of Wagner Rd 50 yards from the dead end.  The overall shape of the plant is shown and then a close up of the stem with the unusual flowers arising from the leaf axils. There are various medicinal reports but here even the exact identification is somewhat in doubt. One possibility is Pennsylvania pellitory, seems to have the green stem.


There should be male and female plants, have to return and look for the male plant( this may very by species).

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