Parietaria judaica
Common names
Pellitory of the wall, Asthma weed
Biostatus
Exotic
Conservation status
Not applicable
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Flower colours
Red/Pink, White
Detailed description
Perennial herb with spreading to erect stems up to 80 (occasionally up to 100) cm long. Stems are reddish to green. Leaves 1.5 – 9 cm long, lanceolate, ovate or rhombic, hairy on both surfaces, strongly veined; leaf stalk 1–1.5 cm long. Single seeded dry fruit (achene) maturing dark brown to black, hard, 1–1.2 mm long and 0.6–0.9 mm wide. It is distinguished by irregularly curled hairs on leaves and stems; axillary flower clusters along much of the stem; stigma on a long style.
Similar taxa
It is commonly confused with Parietaria debilis (native to NZ) and Parietaria officinalis (naturalised in NZ) both of which are annuals having mostly ovate leaves and almost stalkless (sessile) stigmas.
Habitat
Grows in cracks in rocks and pathways and on walls (hence its name).
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Endemic genus
No
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Year naturalised
1946
Origin
S. and W. Europe, N. Africa to C. Asia
Life cycle and dispersal
Spreads mainly by movement of seed, particularly when attached to animals, machinery and people. Some localised spread occurs by root pieces.
Other information
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
PARJUD