Pilea microphylla (L.) Liebm.

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Photo: Bart Wursten
La Rochelle

Synonyms:	Pilea muscosa Lindl.
Common names:	Artillery plant (English) Gunpowder plant (English)
Description:	Erect or procumbent, usually mat-forming, annual or short-lived perennial, herb, up to 30 cm. Stems slightly fleshy. Stipules up to 1 mm. Leaves of a pair very unequal in size: petiole 0.5-6 mm; lamina 1-15 × 0.5-4 mm, usually obovate, smooth and glabrous; apex rounded; margin entire. Inflorescence a small pedunculate to subsessile cymose cluster, 1-2 together in the leaf axils. Achene 0.5-0.8 mm, obovoid, brown, smooth.
Notes:	The specimens in the photographs appear to be a first record for the Eastern Division. The common names derive from the male flowers which explosively discharge pollen into the air.
Derivation of specific name:	microphylla: small-leaved
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution:	Probably native in tropical Central America, widely naturalised in subtropical and tropical areas of the world.
Growth form(s):
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters:	Display spot characters for this species
Image last updated:	Wednesday 29 February 2012
Literature:

Flora of Burundi: Pilea microphylla
Flora of Zimbabwe: Pilea microphylla

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Pilea microphylla
African Plant Database: Pilea microphylla
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Pilea microphylla
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Pilea microphylla
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Pilea microphylla
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Pilea microphylla
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Pilea microphylla
JSTOR Plant Science: Pilea microphylla
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Pilea microphylla
Plants of the World Online: Pilea microphylla
Tropicos: Pilea microphylla
Wikipedia: Pilea microphylla