Pilea microphylla
Urticaceae FAMILY

Pilea microphylla

Pilea microphylla

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

Although a member of the stinging nettle family (Urticaceae), members of this genus do not have stinging hairs[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Annual/Perennial
Growth—

Prefers a position in partial shade[2]. Requires a moist but well-drained soil, and can tolerate short periods of soil inundation[3, 2]. Tolerant of a range of soil types[3]. Male flowers explosively discharge pollen into the air, hence one of the common names for this plant of 'artillery plant'[2].

Propagation

Seed - Stem tip cuttings root easily[2]. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Pilea+microphylla>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  2. [2]KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder — Missouri Botanical Garden · http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ ↩︎Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
  3. [3]Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida — University of Florida · http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/shrubs/ ↩︎PDF fact sheets on over 500 shrubs.
  4. [4]The Bahama Flora — Britton N.L.; Millspaugh C.F. · Britton N.L.; Millspaugh C.F., New York. · 1920 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A botanical description, often accompanied by the plants habitat, of the Flora of the Bahamas.
  5. [5]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
  6. [6]Minor Products of Philippine Forests — Brown. W. H. · Bureau of Forestry, Manilla. · 1920 ↩︎A useful guide to some of the plants of the area, though terse on details. The book is out of copyright and can be legally downloaded from the Internet.