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Pilea involucrata; photograph Alexander Klink, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons CC BYAlexander Klink, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar

Urticaceae · Costa Rica, El Salvador +8

English names not checked: Wikidata's common names were not read for this page.

No habitat climate
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Pilea involucrata, photograph Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPilea involucrata, photograph Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPilea involucrata, photograph Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia CommonsPilea involucrata, photograph Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPilea involucrata, photograph Mokkie, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsPilea involucrata, photograph Mokkie, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 12 photographs ›

Summary

Pilea involucrata (Sims) Urb., commonly known as the friendship plant, is a species of flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae, native to Central and South America. It is a popular houseplant due to its unique foliage and relatively easy care. This species is best known for its popular cultivar, Pilea involucrata 'Moon Valley'.

Quoted from Wikipedia, "Pilea involucrata", CC BY-SA 4.0.

About the genus · Pilea

Pilea, with 600–715 species, is the largest genus of flowering plants in the nettle family Urticaceae.

Quoted from Wikipedia, "Pilea", CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cultivation

Nothing derived: no habitat climate for this species.

Climate across the habitat

No habitat climate can be derived: Only 2 distinct land cells of the climate grid hold an in-range record placed to within 10 km; three are needed for an envelope. 1 of the 3 in-range records is placed to worse than 10 km, or to no stated accuracy and fewer than three decimals or by something other than a person's observation, and cannot place a climate cell, though it counts for the map and its marker.

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.

This species has no GBIF key of its own. Its records are GBIF's under the keys of the names Kew's World Checklist holds as this plant: 5669805 (Urtica involucrata Sims, 6 records), 5670163 (Urtica simsii Voigt, 0 records), 5671108 (Pilea pubescens var. involucrata (Sims) Wedd., 0 records), 7698424 (Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar, 11 records), 7764254 (Pilea involucrata (Sims) Small, 0 records). No name was matched to GBIF; the keys are read from Kew's synonymy. How.

NativeCosta Rica, El Salvador, Panama, Trinidad-Tobago, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is., Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru · regions are the level-3 units of the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, as Kew's World Checklist records ranges, some under historical names such as Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia (how).
Kew's description“wet tropical” · quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Evidence usedThe map marker rests on all 3 georeferenced records inside the native range; the map shows only the 1 openly licensed one, which alone would put the marker 1713 km away. 7 records outside the WCVP native range not used. Under a dozen records behind the map. No climate across the range is derived for this species. 1 in-range record is placed to worse than 10 km, or with no stated accuracy (admitted only as a person's observation to three decimals), and stays on the map but off the climate.
Other GBIF keysRecords also from GBIF's key 5669805 (Urtica involucrata Sims): Kew's file holds it as Urtica involucrata Sims (synonym under Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar); 6 records, from GBIF's download.Records also from GBIF's key 5670163 (Urtica simsii Voigt): Kew's file holds it as Urtica simsii Voigt (illegitimate under Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar); 0 records, from GBIF's search API on the day of the build.Records also from GBIF's key 5671108 (Pilea pubescens var. involucrata (Sims) Wedd.): Kew's file holds it as Pilea pubescens var. involucrata (Sims) Wedd. (synonym under Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar); 0 records, from GBIF's search API on the day of the build.Records also from GBIF's key 7698424 (Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar): Kew's file holds it as Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar (accepted); 11 records, from GBIF's download.Records also from GBIF's key 7764254 (Pilea involucrata (Sims) Small): Kew's file holds it as Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar (accepted); 0 records, from GBIF's search API on the day of the build.

Photographs

Pilea involucrata, photograph 1did not loadPilea involucrata, photograph 2did not loadPilea involucrata, photograph 3did not loadPilea involucrata, photograph 4did not loadPilea involucrata, photograph 5did not loadPilea involucrata, photograph 6did not load

Photographs: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (3); Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons; Mokkie, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (2).

Other Pilea 27 in the reference

Pilea angulata Pilea angulata Urticaceae Photo: CC BY, 黃美滿Pilea aquarum Pilea aquarum Urticaceae Photo: CC BY, 如此甚好Pilea cadierei Pilea cadierei Aluminium Plant Photo: CC BY, Greg III EsperaPilea crassifolia Pilea crassifolia Urticaceae Photo: CC BY-SA, Michael Wolf (Webseite)Pilea depressa Pilea depressa Depressed clearweed Photo: CC BY, Eileen Yayreth Pitti SammsPilea fontana Pilea fontana Lesser clearweed Photo: CC BY, Sam TurnerPilea grandifolia Pilea grandifolia Urticaceae Photo: CC BY-SA, Salicyna Pilea hitchcockii Urticaceae Pilea inaequalis Pilea inaequalis West Indian clearweed Photo: CC BY, Matteo BellucciPilea libanensis Pilea libanensis Urticaceae Photo: CC BY-SA, Krzysztof Ziarnek, KenraizPilea margarettae Pilea margarettae Margarett's clearweed Photo: CC BY, Brian Oakes Haiti HunterPilea melastomoides Pilea melastomoides Urticaceae Photo: CC BY, 黃美滿 all 28 ›

Names & registers

Also known as Urtica simsii; Urtica involucrata; Pilea litoralis; Pilea chrysosplenioides; Pilea pubescens var. involucrata and 1 more. (WCVP, RBG Kew)

IPNIPOWOWikidataWFOWikipedia

The record

Family
Urticaceae
Described by
(Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar
Native to
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Panama +7
Wild records
3 in range · 1 open

Every figure here is derived from public data by a stated rule and names its source; nothing about this species is written for its page by a person or by AI, apart from the marked, credited quotations. How →

Where this page came from built 2026-10-22
Kew's names (WCVP) kew.names answeredas of 2026-06-04Kew's entry Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar (plant_name_id 2608234), read from Kew's names file
GBIF species record gbif.species not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
GBIF synonyms gbif.synonyms not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
GBIF common names gbif.vernacular not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
WCVP native range wcvp.distribution answeredas of 2026-06-04
GBIF occurrence records gbif.occurrences answeredasked 2026-10-22this species has no GBIF key of its own; its records are read under GBIF's keys for the names Kew's file holds as this plant, never by a name matched; GBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.hbdw64, of 2026-10-21; 6 records of GBIF's key 5669805, Urtica involucrata Sims (Kew's file holds it as Urtica involucrata Sims (synonym under Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar)): the GBIF download; 0 records of GBIF's key 5670163, Urtica simsii Voigt (Kew's file holds it as Urtica simsii Voigt (illegitimate under Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar)): GBIF occurrence search API; 0 records of GBIF's key 5671108, Pilea pubescens var. involucrata (Sims) Wedd. (Kew's file holds it as Pilea pubescens var. involucrata (Sims) Wedd. (synonym under Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar)): GBIF occurrence search API; 11 records of GBIF's key 7698424, Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar (Kew's file holds it as Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar (accepted)): the GBIF download; 0 records of GBIF's key 7764254, Pilea involucrata (Sims) Small (Kew's file holds it as Pilea involucrata (Sims) C.H.Wright & Dewar (accepted)): GBIF occurrence search API; 3 records within 1 km of a botanic garden, herbarium or zoo left out (3 at a botanic garden or arboretum; Wikidata's list)
Habitat climate climate nothing to reportasked 2026-10-22only 2 distinct land cells of the climate grid hold an in-range record placed to within 10 km; three are needed for an envelope
Wikidata wikidata answeredasked 2026-10-22found by Kew's IPNI identifier 77091436-1, POWO 77091436-1
Wikipedia wikipedia answeredasked 2026-10-22
iNaturalist photographs, wild inat.photos.wild not asked
iNaturalist photographs, cultivated inat.photos.cultivated not asked
GBIF media gbif.media not askedGBIF's backbone holds no one accepted species of this name, and a name it holds only as another species' synonym is not taken for this one, so GBIF's records were not asked
Wikimedia Commons commons answeredasked 2026-10-22
OpenAlex papers openalex not askednot yet asked for this reference; a later fill takes the papers from OpenAlex's snapshot

Every source is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, refused, failed, not been asked, or answered twice where one answer is taken (“not taken: two items answered”), and, for a source asked when this page was built, when: the figures are as the source held them that day; a source read from a file (Kew's World Checklist, a GBIF download) says "as of" the file's day instead; a row carried from an earlier build of the page names that build instead. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 8 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.

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