Dendrocnide moroides

Overview

Dendrocnide moroides belongs to the nettle family Urticaceae. Queensland’s institutional diagnosis distinguishes it from the giant stinging tree by the leaf-stalk attachment: in D. moroides the stalk joins inside the blade margin. Broad, pale-green leaves carry hairs, and small flowers occur in open clusters at the leaf forks. The same account describes rainforest edges and disturbed places; it does not provide a complete global range.

A Queensland Herbarium collection record describes a shrub with peltate, rounded leaves, toothed margins and hairs on young stems, leaves and petioles. Its fruiting material bore pink-purple fleshy structures containing nuts. These observations concern one recorded collection, rather than an invariant colour or height for every plant. The retained passage is an indexed specimen record; its native page subsequently returned an access error.

Bean’s specimen-based taxonomic study reassigned Australian records attributed to D. cordata to D. cordifolia or D. moroides. This makes identification history part of the evidence, rather than treating every old name as an equivalent current occurrence. Hollow silica-tipped hairs can produce prolonged pain after contact, as the Queensland account explains. This profile provides no handling, consumption or treatment instructions.

Origins & earliest records

Living species documented through herbarium material and modern taxonomic revision.

Evidence & interpretation

Selected retained scientific and institutional passages.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Stinging tree diagnosis

   Queensland Poisons Information Centre

2. 02

   BRI AQ0831383

   Queensland Herbarium

3. 03

   Dendrocnide cordata is not present in Australia

   A. R. Bean

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Government institutional diagnosisStinging tree diagnosisResearch access: 2026-10-11
2. Primary herbarium record; retained indexed passageBRI AQ0831383Research access: 2026-10-11
3. Primary taxonomic paper; retained indexed abstractDendrocnide cordata is not present in AustraliaResearch access: 2026-10-11

Image credits

Modern AI interpretation of a peltate leafy branch.

Modern AI botanical interpretation; peltate attachment is diagnostic, leaf texture and setting imagined.