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Plants of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden

Common
Name

Scientific
Name

Plant
Family

Garden
Location

Prime
Season
Canadian Clearweed
Pilea pumila (L.) A.Gray
Nettle
Woodland
Late Summer to Autumn
Other names and notes
(Richweed, Clearweed). A low growing plant of moist and shady places, usually under a foot high, that has a smooth stem that appears somewhat translucent. The flowers occur in small branching clusters from the leaf axils near the top of the plant in a manner that resembles the Wood Nettle. Flowers are green and very small - up to 1/8" wide. The egg shaped leaves are opposite, long stalked, shiny, and coarsely toothed and have a distinctive set of 3 main parallel veins. Like the stem, they appear translucent. Their are no stinging hairs on this member of the nettle family. The species name pumila means "dwarf" referring to the short stature of the plant. The genus Pilea has over 600 species and the name is derived from Latin pileus, or "felt cap", resembling an old Roman hat, and is descriptive of the the calyx covering the achene (the dry fruit).
Clearweed
Clearweed
Above right: Note the smooth translucency of the stem and leaf stalk and the small size of the visible flower heads. Below right: The distinctive leaf with large teeth and a set of 3 main parallel veins.
Clearweed
Clearweed Leaf
   
 
Clearweed top of plant
  
Notes: This plant is indigenous to the Garden area. Eloise Butler catalogued it in 1912 in her index file of plants in the early Garden. Clearweed is native to Minnesota in a number of scattered counties in the southern 2/3rds of the State, especially the counties bordering our major rivers and those bordering Wisconsin where the plant is represented state wide. The usual references on plant lore and medicinal properties of plants do not mention this plant. There is one species of Pilea known to be used in Chinese medicine.  
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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 15, 16, 30, 31, 33, W2 & W3. Distribution principally from W2 and also 31, 34 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.  
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