Urtica diversifolia Link, Enum. Hort. Berol. 2: 385. 1822; Girardinia chingiana Chien; G. condensata (Steudel) Weddell; G. cuspidata Weddell subsp. grammata C. J. Chen; G. diversifolia subsp. ciliata (C. J. Chen) H. W. Li; G. formosana Hayata; G. heterophylla (Vahl) Decaisne; G. leschenaultiana Decaisne; G. longispica Handel-Mazzetti; G. longispica subsp. conferta C. J. Chen; G. palmata Blume; G. palmata subsp. ciliata C. J. Chen; G. suborbiculata subsp. grammata (C. J. Chen) C. J. Chen; G. vitifolia Franchet; U. buraei H. Léveillé; U. condensata Steudel; U. heterophylla D. Don; U. lobotifolia S. S. Ying; U. palmata Forsskål.

Herbs perennial, dioecious or monoecious, many branched, Stipules oblong-ovate, 1-3 cm, Leaf blade elliptic, ovate or oblate in outline, base cordate or subtruncate, margin usually 3, 5, or 7-lobed or, rarely, regularly serrate or sometimes doubly serrate at leaf base. Male inflorescences cymose-racemose or subpaniculate, 5-11 cm; female ones in distal axils of stem, 10-28 cm, 2.5-3 mm in diam.

Forest margins, along streams; 1500-2800 m. Gansu, Guizhou, Hubei, Jiangxi, S Shaanxi, Sichuan, Taiwan, S Xizang, Yunnan, Zhejiang [Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Sikkim, Sri Lanka; Africa (including Madagascar)].