Pilea umbrosa Wall. ex Bl.

Herbs perennial, stoloniferous, dioecious or monoecious. Stems erect, often branched, 20-50 cm tall, succulent distally, usually covered with multicellular hairs throughout. Stipules soon deciduous, brownish, narrowly ovate or oblong, ca. 5 mm, membranous; petiole unequal in length, 0.6-6.5 cm; leaf blade abaxially pale green, adaxially dark green, broadly ovate, broadly elliptic, or suborbicular, slightly asymmetric, unequal in size, 3-12 × 2-9 cm, submembranous, 3-veined, lateral veins many, cystoliths minute, shortly fusiform, base obtuse to subcordate, margin coarsely dentate, apex short acuminate to caudate-acuminate, acumen untoothed. Inflorescences solitary, male one a widely branched, paniculate cyme, 10-16 cm overall, peduncle 6-10 cm; female inflorescence shorter than male one, shorter than petioles. Male flowers subsessile, in bud obovoid, ca. 0.8 mm; perianth lobes 4, connate at base, corniculate below apex, sparsely setose; stamens 4; rudimentary ovary minute. Female perianth lobes unequal, abaxial lobe hooded, 1/2 as long as achene, lateral 2 lobes triangular-ovate, much shorter, membranous. Achene ovoid, ca. 0.6 mm, compressed, oblique, thinner at margins, smooth, sometimes with an inconspicuously dotted colored ring enclosed by persistent perianth. Fl. Jul-Aug, fr. Sep-Oct.

A monoecious or dioecious perennial, hairy, erect, 40-150 cm tall herb. Leaves with 1.5-7 cm long, dorsally grooved, patent hairy petiole; lamina elliptic-ovate, 6-15 cm long, 4-10 cm broad, serrate, serrations large, base oblique cuneate, acute-acuminate at the apex; stipules oblong-ovate, membranous c. 5-6 mm long, somewhat persistent. Panicle of cymes up to 10 cm long. Flowers minute, green; dorsal sepal of female flowers c.1 mm long. Ovary globose, stigma densely penicillate. Achene ovate-elliptic, c.1 mm long, smooth, white, basally enveloped by sepals, intramarginal ridge present.

S Xizang, NW Yunnan [Bhutan, N India, Kashmir, Nepal].

Himalaya (Kashmir to Bhutan), Khasia, Burma, W. China.

1200-2500 m

Shaded moist places in forests, near streams; 1500-2800 m.