beach alectryon vs Clearweed

Alectryon coriaceus compared with Pilea fontana

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	beach alectryon	Clearweed
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Sapindales (Sapindales)	Rosales (Roses & Allies)
Family	Sapindaceae	Urticaceae
Genus	Alectryon	Pilea
Species	Alectryon coriaceus	Pilea fontana

Evolutionary Relationship

beach alectryon and Clearweed share a common ancestor at the Class level: Magnoliopsida. (Dicots)

Conservation Status

beach alectryon

LC — Least Concern

Clearweed

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	beach alectryon	Clearweed
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

beach alectryon

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Clearweed

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Canada and United States.

beach alectryon

The Beach alectryon (Alectryon coriaceus) is a species in the genus Alectryon. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Clearweed

Clearweed, Pilea pumila, is a small, annual herb in the family Urticaceae native to moist, shaded habitats across eastern North America and eastern Asia, including the eastern United States, Canada, eastern China, Japan, and Korea. The species grows in dense colonies in wet woodland, stream banks, floodplain forests, and moist disturbed ground, often forming carpets on rich, moist mineral soils in deeply shaded forest understories. The common name refers to the translucent, watery stems and smooth, bright green leaves, which give the plant an almost glassy appearance. Like its relative stinging nettle, Clearweed is a member of the nettle family but lacks the stinging hairs, making it harmless to touch. The leaves are opposite, broadly ovate with toothed margins, and the plants bear inconspicuous tiny greenish flowers that are wind-pollinated, releasing pollen in small explosive bursts. Clearweed provides food for a variety of insects and invertebrates in moist forest understory communities. The species is not considered threatened and is common across its native range, thriving in the disturbed, humid conditions found along stream margins and in second-growth forest habitats. It is occasionally weedy in gardens and greenhouses.