Full Plant
Plant Details
Local Name:
Mathil Pachcha
Common Name:
Gunpowder plant
Scientific Name:
Pilea microphylla (L.) Liebm.
Family:
Urticaceae
Vernacular Name:
cheriya ilachedi, pathala pacha
Habit:
Perennial herb
Habitat:
Humid areas, such as roadsides, stream beds, and old walls.
Distribution:
Native to Tropical regions of Central and South America and Caribbean,
Flowering Season:
August to November
Fruiting Season:
August to November
Altitude:
up to 1,100 meters
Location:
Parappur
GPS Coordinates:
11.0121° N, 75.9947° E
Collection Date:
2025-06-19
Collector Name:
Rajla A M
IUCN Status:
Not Evaluated (NE)
Invasive Status:
invasive
Description:
Pilea microphylla is a small,soft, smooth herb, 10 centimeters or less in height. Stems are slender, angular, green with a tint of purple, and angular. Leaves occur in two rows, petioled, somewhat elliptical in shape, 2 to 5 millimeters in length. Flowers are very small and crowded in small inflorescences (cymes) which are greenish or tinged with red and less than 1 millimeter in length. A multitude of minute, lime green leaves on short, arching stems gives artillery plant a fine-textured, fern like appearance. Growing only 8 to 12 inches tall and quickly forming spreading clumps up to two feet wide, artillery plant makes an attractive tropical ground cover. The common name is derived from the forcefully ejected pollen from the rather inconspicuous flowers on this brittle and succulent plant. Although a member of the stinging nettle family (Urticaceae), members of this genus do not have stinging hairs.