Eucnide urens, also known as desert rock nettle or desert stingbush, is a shrub which is native to desert areas in California, Arizona, Utah and Baja California. Other common names are velcro plant[1] and vegetable velcro.[2]

Desert rock nettle
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Cornales
Family:	Loasaceae
Genus:	Eucnide
Species:	E. urens
Binomial name
Eucnide urens Parry, 1875

The flowers, which appear from spring to early summer, are cream or pale yellow with 5 petals and are 2.5 to 5 cm long. The coarsely serrated leaves are 2 to 6.5 cm long with stinging hairs which are also found on the stems and buds. It grows in the desert on cliffs and dry, rocky places.[3]

The plant is round and bushy and is usually between 30 and 60 cm in height and is often found on cliff faces. Desert bighorn sheep feed on the flowers.^{[citation needed]}

Notes

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eucnide urens.

• Spellenberg, R. (1979) Field Guide to North American Wildflowers - Western Region, National Audubon Society.
• Hall, Clarence A., Jr. (1991) Natural History of the White-Inyo Range, University of California Press.