|
Artillery-Fern,
Artillery
Plant
Pilea microphylla
(L.) Liebm.
PILE-ee-ah
my-crow-FILL-ah
Urticaceae
Explanation
of name:
Generic name from Latin for a felt cap, in reference to the fruit cover (WA1).
Microphylla means small-leaved.
Natural
range:
Florida to South America
Recognition:
Not a fern. Small plants with variably-sized (often ¼”-1”) sessile leaves, these
usually narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate-obovate, arranged densely and more or
less flatly along a soft, somewhat succulent arching stem. The leafy stem
vaguely resembling a fern frond. ‘Summer Snow’ is a white-variegated cultivar,
reportedly (Logees Greenhouses) tolerant of sunny, dry conditions.
Landscape
uses:
A groundcover for moist, more or less shaded places. Sometimes grown in
containers and indoors. Can be weedy in appearance and in behavior, and escapes
cultivation.
Note:
Aluminum-Plant, often grown in pots, is Pilea cadierei Gagnep. &
Guillaumin.
*Florida abundance
and distribution: Scattered
throughout
|
Botanical |
English |
FL native |
Growth form
|
Flowering season
|
Typical dimensions |
Suggested spacing |
Cultural conditions
|
Problems |
|
Pilea microphylla |
Artillery-Fern
Artillery Plant |
Native |
Herb
Groundcover |
NA |
1’(2’) X 1’ |
1’ |
SH-PS
MO
(HOR, UFFPS479)
|
Fragile
Weediness |
*Contributed by:
Nathan Hendry |
