Western Nettle (Annual Stinging Nettle)

Hesperocnide tenella

Native to California. A slender, weak, bristly-stemmed, 1 to 2 ft. high, ephemeral annual; occasional, sometimes in dense stands on moist, shaded slopes of old growth coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and riparian woodland mostly near the coast; Upper Newport Bay, Newport Beach, San Joaquin Hills (including UCI Ecological Preserve), southeast coast, and San Lucas Canyon, Santa Ana Mountains (Roberts).  It is distinguishable from U. urens in having raised black dots on the leaves at the base of some hairs, and rounder lobes on leaves (Clarke). Inflorescences have clustered heads of mixed staminate and pistillate flowers at the base of the leaves. No petals;  pistillate sepals are joined in a tube, constricted at the apex. Like many other nettles, it has stinging hairs that contain formic acid. These hairs are hooked, and they get caught in the skin and can become very irritating depending on how sensitive the individual is to formic acid (Wikipedia). Flowering: Feb.-June.

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