ortiga

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

• n. In Spanish America, a name given to a number of stinging plants of various families, and also to those which resemble nettles in appearance. In Mexico the name is applied to the introduced ramie-fiber plant, Bœhmeria nivea; in Porto Rico to species of Urera, including U. Caracasana and U. baccifera, which bear edible fruit; in the warm regions of Mexico to species of Cohiba, belonging to the Hydrophyllaceæ, especially to C. urens; and in the State of Jalisco to Tournefortia hirsutissima, belonging to the Boraginaceæ. See cut at Bœhmeria.