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Urera caracasana
Urticaceae FAMILY

Urera caracasana

Urera caracasana

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

The plant is furnished with stinging hairs, especially the stiff hairs of the inflorescence, but the pain produced is ephemeral and not nearly so severe as that of the related Urera baccifera[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitShrub
Growth—

Found in the wild in sandy soils or light, medium loams[2]. Usually a dioecious species, though sometimes monoecious. In general, both male and female forms need to be grown if fruit and seed are required[3].

Propagation

Seed - Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Urera+caracasana>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]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/
  2. [2]Woods of Northeastern Peru — Williams L. · Field Museum Press; Chicago. · 1936 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎Gives information on the properties of the wood of well over 1,000 species of woody plants from northeastern Peru. Can be downloaded from the Internet.
  3. [3]Flora of Jamaica — Fawcett. W. & Rendle. A. B. · British Museum · 1910 ↩︎Rather dated, so many name changes. Nevertheless, a very good guide to the plants of the Caribbean. The book is out of copyright and can be legally downloaded from various websites.
  4. [4]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
  5. [5]Medicinal Plants of the Guianas — DeFilipps, R. A.; Maina, S. L.; & Crepin, J. · Smithsonian Museum · http://botany.si.edu/bdg/medicinal/index.html ↩︎A down-loadable PDF document of a book in pre-publication awaiting illustration. An excellent, if rather terse, guide to the traditional medicinal uses of the plants of the region
  6. [6]Useful Plants of the Siona and Secoya Indians of Eastern Ecuador. — Vickers W.T.; Plowman T. · Field Museum of Natural History; USA. · 1984 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN 0015 - 0746 ↩︎Very terse, but it gives the uses of a large number of species. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  7. [7]Useful Fiber Plants of the World — Dodge C.R. · USDA; Washington. · 1897 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A rather dated, but very comprehensive catalogue of fibre plants from around the world. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.
  8. [8]Anthropological Papers Nos. 27 - 32 — US Government Printing Office; Washington. · 1943 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎A series of papers, including one looking at 100 often used native plants of the Yucatan.