Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Streptophyta

Class: Equisetopsida

Subclass: Magnoliidae

Order: Rosales

Family: Urticaceae

Genus: Laportea

Species: Laportea interrupta

Description: Hen’s Nettle is a small, hardly branched, slightly fleshy herb, bearing hairs which irritate the skin. The stem grows up to 20-80 cm tall. Leaves are ovate, narrow tipped, 6-9 cm long, 5-6 cm wide, on slender stalks up to 8 cm long. Leaves are rounded to nearly heart-shaped at the base. Margins are coarsely serrated. Inflorescences on appear on stalks in leaf axils. Flowers are tiny, green, with most organs in 4 parts. Fruit is a heart- shaped achene.

Uses: The whole plant is anthelmintic and expectorant. It is boiled, together with Phyllanthus amarus, Phyllanthus debilis, or Phyllanthus urinaria, and the solution is drunk to relieve whooping cough

The leaves are applied to carbuncles, they are rubbed on the head to relieve headaches, and on the stomach to ease stomach-aches

A decoction of the root is taken as a diuretic, and also prescribed as a remedy for coughs and asthma

The flowers are applied externally to sores on the sole of feet