Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Small

Diet

Photosynthetic

Biome

Tropical rainforest

Range

The Americas

Movement

Sessile

Breeding

Seeds

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

This small succulent grows in the rocky, tropical soils of the Americas. It ejects clouds of dry pollen into the air by snapping its stamens like tiny triggers.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   seed

   A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2. 2.
   sprout

   A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3. 3.
   sapling

   A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4. 4.
   mature

   Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Plantae

Phylum

Tracheophyta

Class

Magnoliopsida

Order

Rosales

Family

Urticaceae

Genus

Pilea

Species

Pilea microphylla