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Glite Dictionary
Laportea canadensis

Laportea canadensis

9.9
A plant with stinging hairs that grows in moist shady woods in eastern North America
  • noun
  • /ləˈpɔrtiə kəˌnædɛnˈsɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : Laportea canadensis
  • The stinging hairs of Laportea canadensis can cause skin irritation when touched.

Examples

  • Some indigenous peoples used fibers from Laportea canadensis to make strong fishing nets and textiles.

  • Laportea canadensis grows abundantly in moist, shady forests throughout eastern North America.

  • The Laportea canadensis thrives in rich, moist woods.

  • Have you ever seen Laportea canadensis in the forest?

  • The stinging hairs of Laportea canadensis can cause skin irritation when touched.

  • Some indigenous peoples used fibers from Laportea canadensis to make strong fishing nets and textiles.

  • Laportea canadensis grows abundantly in moist, shady forests throughout eastern North America.

Synonyms

nettle
vsLaportea canadensis
9 5.5

A plant with hairs that sting and make your skin hurt when you touch it

is narrower and refers to a specific woodland species used for fibers
wood nettle
vsLaportea canadensis
  • US
7.9

A woodland plant with stinging hairs that can hurt your skin

means the same but is the scientific name rather than the common name

How Irritating

Laportea canadensis
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

Laportea canadensis singular
Laportea canadensis plural

Morphology

Laportea + canadensis

The name is transparently compositional: it combines the genus 'Laportea' (a plant genus) with the specific epithet 'canadensis' (indicating origin from Canada), so a learner who knows those constituent meanings can infer it denotes a Laportea species from Canada. Scientific binomial naming is a regular, cross-linguistic pattern, so despite being botanical jargon, the overall meaning is directly derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Laportea canadensis is a scientific name: Laportea is named after a French plant scientist and canadensis means 'from Canada'. The name fits the plant you can picture in moist, shady woods — a wood nettle with stinging hairs that people used for strong fibers, so it is called the 'Canadian wood nettle'.