[Greek napaea, wood nymph, alluding to woodland habitat) [Greek napaea, wood nymph, alluding to woodland habitat)

John W. Thieret

Herbs, perennial. Stems erect, unbranched below inflorescence, simple- and/or stellate-hairy. Leaves: stipules persistent, broadly lanceolate; blade ± reniform to orbiculate, palmately lobed, base truncate to cordate, margins coarsely toothed. Inflorescences terminal panicles, bracteate; involucel absent. Flowers unisexual, staminate and pistillate on different plants (plants dioecious); calyx not accrescent, not inflated, lobes unribbed, triangular; corolla white; staminal column ± included; style 6–10-branched; stigmas introrsely decurrent, linear or filiform. Fruits schizocarpic, erect, not inflated; mericarps 6–10, reniform, 1-celled, apex apiculate (sometimes minutely so), indehiscent or tardily dehiscent. Seeds 1 per mericarp, glabrous. x = 15.

Species 1: nc United States.

H. H. Iltis and S. Kawano (1964) suggested that Napaea may have originated as an allopolyploid.

Lower Taxon

• Napaea dioica Linnaeus