Urera

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Rosids
Cladus: Eurosids I
Ordoo: Rosales

Familia: Urticaceae
Tribus: Urticeae
Genus: Urera
Species: U. acuminata – U. altissima – U. aurantiaca – U. baccifera – U. batesii – U. capitata – U. caracasana – U. chlorocarpa – U. cordifolia – U. cuneata – U. domingensis – U. elata – U. expansa – U. fenestrata – U. filiformis – U. flamigniana – U. gabonensis – U. glabra – U. glabriuscula – U. gravenreuthii – U. guanacastensis – U. henriquesii – U. hypselodendron – U. kaalae – U. keayi – U. killipiana – U. laciniata – U. lianoides – U. lobulata – U. mannii – U. martiniana – U. nitida – U. oblongifolia – U. obovata – U. pacifica – U. repens – U. rigida – U. robusta – U. sansibarica – U. simplex – U. sinuata – U. talbotii – U. thonneri – U. trinervis – U. verrucosa
Name

Urera Gaudich., Voy. Uranie, Bot. 496. (1830)

Type species: Urera baccifera (L.) Gaudich., Voy. Uranie, Bot. 497. (1830)

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Calostima Raf.
Scepocarpus Wedd.

References

Gaudichaud-Beaupré, C 1830. Voyage autour du Monde, entrepris par Ordre du Roi, . . . Execute sur les Corvettes de S.M. l'Uranie et la Physicienne . . . par M. Louis de Freycinet. Botanique 496.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Urera in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Oct. 16. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Urera. Published online. Accessed: Oct. 16 2020.
Tropicos.org 2020. Urera. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2020 Oct. 16.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Urera in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Urera is a genus of flowering plants in the nettle family, Urticaceae. It has a pantropical distribution.[1]

Description

Urera are lianas,[2] shrubs, and small trees.[1] Climbing species root along the stems and can reach the crowns of the trees they use for support.[2] Some are spiny.[1] They almost always have urticating hairs, often on bumps in the epidermis.[2] These are stiff, stinging trichomes with swollen bases.[1] The leaves are variable in shape and venation, and help in the identification of species. Also useful is the varying appearance and arrangement of cystoliths on the leaf surface. The inflorescence is a divided, branching panicle of flowers. Most species are dioecious, but a few are monoecious. Most species have male flowers with either four or five stamens and tepals.[1] Female flowers generally have four uneven, free to mostly fused tepals. The fruit is an achene covered in orange or red flesh.[2]
Systematics and taxonomy

About 113 species epithets have been published for the genus.[3] Many species have been transferred to other genera, including Boehmeria, Dendrocnide, Girardinia, Gyrotaenia, Laportea, and Obetia. It is not clear how many valid species currently belong in Urera, with estimates ranging from 17[4] to 75.[1] The genus is not well known, with current knowledge dependent mainly on outdated studies, and there is little agreement regarding its taxonomy.[1]

The genus Urera was first described by Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré in 1826 in his review of the studies done on Louis de Freycinet's voyage of the Uranie.[5] He noted its distinctness, proposing the subtribe Urereae. This was later raised to the rank of tribe,[6] and subsequently merged into Urticeae.[7]

Urera was expanded to include the monospecific genus Scepocarpus.[7] Analysis of trnL-F chloroplast DNA sequence data suggests that Urera could be sister to Poikilospermum within the Urticaceae.[8]

No botanical monographs have been devoted to Urera since 1869.[1] Knowledge of the systematics of the genus has accumulated mainly from new descriptions of species and floristic accounts.[1]
Urera caracasana fruits
Selected species
Urera glabra
Urera baccifera

Species include:[4]

Urera acuminata
Urera aurantiaca
Urera baccifera (L.) Gaudich. ex Wedd., 1852 – guaritoto, scratchbush
Urera cameroonensis
Urera capitata
Urera caracasana (Jacq.) Gaudich. ex Griseb., 1859 – flameberry
Urera elata
Urera expansa (Sw.) Griseb.
Urera glabra (Hook. & Arn.) Wedd. – hopue, Ōpuhe (Hawaii)[9]
Urera henriquesii
Urera kaalae Wawra – Ōpuhe (Oʻahu in Hawaii)
Urera laciniata
Urera mannii
Urera nitida
Urera repens
Urera simplex
Urera sinuata
Urera thonneri
Urera trinervis (Hochst.) Friis & Immelman, 1987
Urera verrucosa – chichicastle, mala mujer

References

Steinmann, V. W. (2005). Four new neotropical species and a new combination of Urera (Urticaceae). Acta Botánica Mexicana (71), 19-43.
Urera. Flora Zambesiaca.
International Plant Names Index (IPNI) (2005): Urera.
Urera. The Plant List.
Gaudichaud-Beaupré, C. (1826): [Description of Urera]. Botanique du voyage etc. de L'Uranie et La Physicienne: 496-97.
Weddell, H. A. (1856): Urera. In: Baudry, G. & Baudry, J. (eds.): Monographie de la famille des Urticacées: 143-62. [in French]. G. and J. Baudry, Paris, France.
Friis, I. (1989): The Urticaceae: a systematic review. In: Crane, P. E. & Blackmore, S. (eds.): Evolution, systematics, and fossil history of the Hamamelidae (Vol. 2): 285–308. Systematics Association Special Volume 40B. Oxford Science Publications, Oxford, UK.
Monro, A. K. (2006). The revision of species-rich genera: a phylogenetic framework for the strategic revision of Pilea (Urticaceae) based on CPDNA, NRDNA and morphology. American Journal of Botany 93(3): 426-41.

R. G. Skolmen, Little, E. L. (1989). "Ōpuhe" (PDF). Common Forest Trees of Hawaii (Native and Introduced). United States Forest Service. Retrieved 2009-11-28.