Urticaceae

Rockweed

Pilea microphylla (L.) Liebm.

Family: Urticaceae
Genus: Pilea

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Rockweed (Pilea microphylla) — FlowerPhoto: portioid, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (9)

Bangla: বারুদ উদ্ভিদ
Chinese: 小叶冷水花, 小葉冷水花, 小葉冷水麻, 小叶冷水麻, 透明草
English: Rockweed
gor: Katumpangan
Indonesian: Katumpangan
Japanese: コゴメミズ
Malayalam: പൈലിയ മൈക്രോഫില്ല
Spanish: Helecho de arroz
Swedish: Mosspilea

Synonyms

Dubrueilia microphylla (L.) Gaudich.
Parietaria microphylla L.
Pilea muscosa var. microphylla (L.) Wedd.
Pilea trianthemoides var. microphylla (L.) Wedd.
Urtica microphylla (L.) Sw.

Flowers

In flower: all year (from 391 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Forb/herb, Subshrub
Lifespan: Annual, Perennial
In the US and Canada: Hawaii: introduced, Lower 48 states: native, Pacific Basin: introduced, Puerto Rico: native, U.S. Virgin Islands: native

Photos

FlowerPhoto: portioid, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Dana Lee Ling, CC0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Victor Farjalla Pontes, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Steve Fitzgerald, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Becky Dill, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Tanvir Adib, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Diogo Luiz, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Tanvir Adib, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Scott Ward, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Yercaud-elango, CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Diego Blanco, CC0, from iNaturalist

More in Pilea

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.