Translations:Benutzer:Arian/Klett-Mini-Test/1402/en

Striking is the fact that the sharp emphasis of the polarity between root and blossom — so characteristic of the composites yarrow and chamomile — is absent in the stinging nettle; it belongs to the order of the *Urticales*. With its inconspicuous inflorescences it submerges into the foliage of the upper third of the stem. The flowers grow from the leaf axils of the leaves, which are arranged in a strictly opposite-decussate pattern, rising in tiers one above the other (Figure 28, p. 383). The pollen-bearing plants show a more elongated leaf blade and a rounded toothing of the leaf margin, while those of the fruit-bearing plants have a more compact, heart-shaped leaf blade and a sharply pointed toothing. Leaf metamorphosis manifests only weakly: already in the lowermost leaf the type of the plant reveals itself, with a pronounced yet still somewhat rounded toothing and a covering of stinging hairs; indeed even the cotyledons already bear such hairs. Upward toward the middle of the shoot the leaf blade widens into an accentuated heart shape, and toward the tip of the stem it narrows again into finely and sharply toothed, lanceolate forms.