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Home/Species/ Small-spike False Nettle

Boehmeria cylindrica

(L.) Sw.

Small-spike False Nettle

G5Secure Found in 11 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.147995
Element CodePDURT01010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderUrticales
FamilyUrticaceae
GenusBoehmeria
Synonyms
Urtica cylindricaL.
Other Common Names
Boehméria cylindrique (FR) False-nettle (EN) small-spike false nettle (EN) Swamp-nettle (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-07-18
Change Date1984-02-14
Edition Date2024-07-18
Edition AuthorsSoteropoulos (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Boehmeria cylindrica is a wide-ranging perennial herb in a variety of wetlands occurring in the Americas from New Brunswick west to Ontario, Canada, South Dakota, and Utah in the United States south to Florida west to Arizona, Mexico, Central America, South America (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela), the West Indies, and Bermuda. Little is known about threats or trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, this species is considered secure.
Range Extent Comments
Boehmeria cylindrica occurs in the Americas from New Brunswick west to Ontario, Canada, South Dakota, and Utah in the United States south to Florida west to Arizona, Mexico, Central America, South America (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela), the West Indies, and Bermuda (FNA 1997). Range extent was estimated to be over 40 million square kilometers using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024 (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are thousands of occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, this species is potentially threatened by development, hydrological alteration, succession, invasive species, and other threats in some places. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Boehmeria cylindrica grows in "alluvial or moist, deciduous woods, swamps, bogs, marshes, wet meadows, ditches" and tidal marshes (FNA 1997, Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2024).
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDFORESTED WETLANDBog/fenRiparian
Other Nations (2)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
IllinoisS5Yes
New JerseyS5Yes
PennsylvaniaS5Yes
South DakotaSNRYes
South CarolinaS5Yes
Rhode IslandSNRYes
TexasSNRYes
MinnesotaSNRYes
WisconsinSNRYes
MassachusettsSNRYes
MichiganSNRYes
ArkansasSNRYes
FloridaS4Yes
MissouriSNRYes
IndianaS5Yes
VermontS5Yes
GeorgiaSNRYes
MississippiSNRYes
UtahSNRYes
LouisianaSNRYes
District of ColumbiaS5Yes
DelawareS5Yes
West VirginiaS5Yes
KentuckyS5Yes
TennesseeSNRYes
KansasS4Yes
MaineSNRYes
VirginiaS5Yes
ArizonaS1Yes
OklahomaSNRYes
New HampshireSNRYes
AlabamaSNRYes
OhioSNRYes
MarylandSNRYes
ConnecticutSNRYes
IowaS4Yes
New YorkS5Yes
New MexicoSNRYes
North CarolinaS5Yes
NebraskaSNRYes
CanadaN5
ProvinceRankNative
QuebecS4Yes
New BrunswickS3Yes
Nova ScotiaS2Yes
OntarioS5Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined———

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (11)
Alabama (1)
AreaForestAcres
Oakey MountainTalladega National Forest6,129
Arkansas (2)
AreaForestAcres
Gee CreekOzark-St. Francis National Forest7,957
Little BlakelyOuachita National Forest3,342
Kentucky (1)
AreaForestAcres
WolfpenDaniel Boone National Forest2,835
Louisiana (1)
AreaForestAcres
Saline Bayou W & S River CorridorKisatchie National Forest5,355
Maine (1)
AreaForestAcres
Caribou - Speckled ExtWhite Mountain National Forest5,988
North Carolina (2)
AreaForestAcres
Boteler PeakNantahala National Forest4,205
Harper CreekPisgah National Forest7,325
Oklahoma (1)
AreaForestAcres
Beech CreekOuachita National Forest8,303
Pennsylvania (1)
AreaForestAcres
Allegheny FrontAllegheny National Forest7,430
Virginia (1)
AreaForestAcres
James River AdditionJefferson National Forest1,140
References (7)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 1997. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 3. Magnoliophyta: Magnoliidae and Hamamelidae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiii + 590 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
  3. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  4. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  5. NatureServe. 2024. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  6. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).
  7. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2024. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of March 4, 2024. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2203 pp.