Tropical bull nettle

Cnidoscolus urens is a perennial, tropical American stinging herb of the family Euphorbiaceae, and is one of some 100 species belonging to the genus Cnidoscolus (from Gk. knidē "nettle", skōlos "thorn", and Latin urens "burning"). The plant is locally known as bull nettle, spurge nettle, pringamosa, bringamosa and mala mujer ("evil woman").

This species has an erect stem and is herbaceous when young, turning woody with age and from 50 to 150 centimeters tall. Leaves are lobed and large, while the white flowers occur in cymes, producing a spiny 3-seeded capsule with seeds rich in fats and proteins, resembling those of Ricinus communis. Its carunculate seeds are usually dispersed by ants (myrmecochory) attracted by the edible elaiosome. The entire plant is covered in stinging hairs, and has a native range covering Central and South America, being found in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela.

Cnidoscolus urens is monoecious and self-compatible.

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