Pilea bracteosa - Bracted Himalayan Clearweed

Bracted Himalayan Clearweed is a perennial herb, with stems blue when dry, 15-30 cm tall, fleshy on upper part, with galls on mid portion of internodes. Stipules are persistent, light green, oblong, 5-8 mm, leaf-stalks unequal in length, 1-7 cm, sparsely finely velvet-hairy; leaf blade below paler green, broadly ovate or oblong, sometimes oblique, unequal in size, 3-9 x 2-4 cm, membranous, 3-veined, lateral veins many, cystoliths prominent above, base rounded or nearly heart-shaped, sometimes eared at base, margin rounded toothed-sawtoothed, tip tapering or with a tail-tapering. Inflorescences are solitary, in upper stems, a cymose panicle, 4-10 cm; bracts triangular, over 2 mm. Male flowers are stalked or stalkless. Female flowers nearly stalkless, in bud about 0.5 mm. Bracted Himalayan Clearweed is found in m moist places in broad-leaved forests, in S Xizang, NW Yunnan, Bhutan, NE India, Nepal, at altitudes of 1800-2800 m. Flowering: July-August.