Urtica dioica

The common or stinging nettle is a well-known and highly successful 'weed' species (4). The roots are very tough and are yellow in colour, and the creeping stems, which often take root at their bases, produce shoots during spring (2). The oval-shaped leaves are easily recognised; they have deeply serrated edges and bear stinging hairs. These hollow hairs have a similar structure to hypodermic needles, and have a swollen base that contains the venom (4); an encounter with these leaves is not quickly forgotten (4). The specific part of the scientific name dioica means 'two houses', which refers to the fact that the male and female flowers are found on separate plants (4). The small whitish flowers are clustered in spikes known as inflorescences, which reach up to 10 cm in length (2).

Morphology
The common, or stinging, nettle is

• a herbaceous plant
• dark green leaves
• inconspicuous flowers
• abundant stinging hairs

We become aware of nettles at an early age, usually by being stung by them. Thereafter we avoid or ignore them, but our ancestors used nettles as food, for fibre, and in medicine, and some of these uses are being revived today.

The common or stinging nettle is one of the British Isles most widespread and successful plants. It is characteristic of damp, nutrient-rich soils, but can colonise a wide range of other habitats. Our ancestors used nettles as

• food
• for fibre
• in medicine

and some of these uses are being revived today. In the British Isles it was widely thought that beating limbs with nettles would relieve rheumatic pains. At present research is being carried out into the use of nettles to cure arthritis.

The common nettle is a perennial species (3), which flowers from June to August (6) and spreads by seeds and by vegetative reproduction via creeping underground rhizomes (5). It is one of the most important plants in Britain for invertebrates, and is essential for many of our species of butterflies and moths, including the caterpillars of the beautiful small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) and peacock (Inacis io) butterflies (4). It is not grazed by animals due to the presence of the protective stinging hairs, and so the nettle provides a relatively safe habitat for insects and their larvae (4). Humans have put the nettle to various uses; it does not sting when it has been cooked, and can be eaten like spinach or made into nutritious soups. A good green manure can be made by steeping the leaves in water, and in Germany the fibres were used to make army uniforms during the First World War when cotton was in short supply (5). It also has a number of medical uses, such as treatments for arthritis and gout (4).

     AL  AK  AZ  AR  CA  CO  CT  DE  GA  ID
     IL  IN  IA  KS  KY  LA  ME  MD  MA  MI
     MN  MS  MO  MT  NE  NV  NH  NJ  NM  NY
     NC  ND  OH  OK  OR  PA  RI  SC  SD  TN
     TX  UT  VT  VA  WA  WV  WI  WY  DC  AB
     BC  MB  NB  NF  NT  NS  ON  PE  PQ  SK
     YT  MEXICO

American stinging nettle is the most common subspecies in temperate
North America and occurs throughout Canada and much of the United
States.  In the East and Midwest, American stinging nettle occurs as far
south as Virginia, Missouri, and Kansas; in the West, it occurs south
along the coast to central California and south in the Rocky Mountains
to Mexico.  European stinging nettle occurs primarily along the Atlantic
Coast from Newfoundland south to Georgia and Alabama.  It is recently
adventive westward in Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Alaska.  Hoary
nettle is native to the western United States.  It occurs from eastern
Washington south through California to Mexico, east to northern Arizona
and extreme northwestern Colorado, and north to western Wyoming and
southwestern Montana [51].

More info on this topic.

This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

    1  Northern Pacific Border
    2  Cascade Mountains
    3  Southern Pacific Border
    4  Sierra Mountains
    5  Columbia Plateau
    6  Upper Basin and Range
    7  Lower Basin and Range
    8  Northern Rocky Mountains
    9  Middle Rocky Mountains
   10  Wyoming Basin
   11  Southern Rocky Mountains
   12  Colorado Plateau
   13  Rocky Mountain Piedmont
   14  Great Plains
   15  Black Hills Uplift
   16  Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands

Also called great nettle, European stinging nettle occurs in Coastal Plain, Piedmont and Mountain provinces in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, from Delaware to Florida. It inhabits damp, rich, disturbed areas, primarily in calcareous soils, in floodplains and moist open forests, and can tolerate dry soils and some shade.

Europe

Urtica dioica L.:
Afghanistan (Asia)
Brazil (South America)
Bhutan (Asia)
Canada (North America)
Greenland (North America)
Mexico (Mesoamerica)
Nepal (Asia)
United States (North America)
China (Asia)
Colombia (South America)
Ecuador (South America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

E Gansu, Qinghai, NW Sichuan, W Xinjiang, Xizang [Afghanistan, C Himalayas; N Africa, Europe, North America].

Canada

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

The common, or stinging nettle is one of the British Isles most widespread and successful plants. The stinging nettle thrives in damp, nutrient-rich soils, but can colonise a wide range of other habitatsCommon nettle is also provides the food-plant for the caterpillars of several of our most colourful butterflies.

Common and widely spread throughout Britain (2). Elsewhere it occurs in temperate parts of Europe and Asia (2), and has been introduced to many areas outside of this native range (3).

Distribution: Widespread in the temperate regions of both hemispheres.

Europe, N. Africa, W. Siberia, C. Asia, Himalaya, Tibet, W. China, naturalised widely in other temperate regions.

More info for the terms: achene, dioecious, epigeal, forb, monoecious

Stinging nettle is an erect, perennial, rhizomatous forb which forms
dense clonal patches.  Stout stems grow 3.3 to 6.6 feet (1-2 m) tall.
Leaves, stems, and flowers are sparsely to moderately covered with
stinging hairs.  Two subspecies, American stinging nettle and hoary
nettle, are native; the third subspecies in North America, European
stinging nettle, was introduced in the mid-1800's.  American stinging
nettle and hoary nettle are predominantly monoecious whereas European
stinging nettle is typically dioecious.  The fruit is an achene [1,51].
Stinging nettle has both epigeal and shallow subterranean rhizomes [35].

• Plant: erect, rhizomatous, dioecious (male and female flowers occur on separate plants) perennial; unbranched; can grow to 6 ft. in height; covered with minute needle-like stinging hairs that can cause a painful burning sensation lasting many hours.
• Leaves: opposite, 2-6 in. long with leaf bases broadly ovate to cordate (heart-shaped) and leaf margins serrate; stipules (outgrowths on either side of leaf stalk) are 5-15 mm long.
• Flowers, fruits and seeds: flowers are branched, many-flowered, and emerge from below the petioles which they exceed in length; flowers occur May-July; fruits occur July-September.
• Spreads: by seed.
• Look-alikes: may be confused with other members of the nettle family including American stinging nettle (U. gracilis), which is usually monoecious, stouter and more sparsely hairy; wood nettle (Laportea canadensis) which is alternate leaved; false-nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica) and clearweed (Pilea) which lack stinging hairs.

Dioecious, perennial, 50-150 cm herb with a dense indumentum of stinging hairs. Stem angled. Leaves with 1.5-4 cm long petiole; lamina narrowly lanceolate to ovate, 5-12 cm long, 2.5-8 cm broad, cordate at the base, margin serrate, apex acute-acuminate; stipules free lateral, oblong-lanceolate, 8-12 mm long, ciliate. Racemes of cymes axillary, often longer than the subtending petiole, densely appressed pubescent, with scattered stinging hairs. Flowers pale-greenish, or whitish, bracteate; bracts of male flowers smaller than those of female flowers. Sepals pubescent. Achenes up to c. 1.5 mm long, ovoid-ellipsoid, pale green or greenish-brown.

3000-4500 m

Herbs perennial, dioecious, rarely monoecious. Rhizomes woody, stoloniferous. Stems simple or few branched, 40-100 cm tall; stems and petioles often densely or sometimes sparsely covered with stinging and setulose hairs. Stipules free, linear, (2-)5-8 mm; petiole 2.5-4 cm; leaf blade ovate, sometimes lanceolate, 5-13 × 2.5-6 cm, often herbaceous, (3-)5-veined, lateral basal veins reaching distal margin and anastomosing, secondary veins 3-5 each side, adaxial surface sparsely covered with stinging and setulose hairs, abaxial surface often densely covered with long, stinging and setulose hairs along veins, base cordate, margin coarsely 15-21-serrate or -dentate, teeth often incurved-tipped, apex acuminate or long acuminate; cystoliths punctiform. Inflorescences paniculate, 3-7 cm; female inflorescences with slender axes, often drooping in fruit. Male flowers in bud ca. 1.4 mm; perianth lobes connate 1/2 of length, puberulent. Female flowers: perianth lobes connate at 1/4 of lower part, dorsal-ventral lobes elliptic-ovate, 1.2-1.5 mm, sparingly setulose, lateral lobes narrowly elliptic, 2-3 × as long as the dorsal ones, Achene brownish gray, ovoid or narrowly ovoid, slightly compressed, 1-1.2(-1.4) mm, smooth, invested by persistent perianth lobes. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Aug-Sep.

Herbs , perennial, rhizomatous, 5-30 dm. Stems simple or branched, erect or sprawling. Leaf blades elliptic, lanceolate, or narrowly to broadly ovate, 6-20 × 2-13 cm, base rounded to cordate, margins coarsely serrate, sometimes doubly serrate, apex acute or acuminate; cystoliths rounded. Inflorescences paniculate, pedunculate, elongate. Flowers unisexual, staminate and pistillate on same or different plants, staminate ascending, the pistillate lax or recurved. Pistillate flowers: outer tepals linear to narrowly spatulate or lanceolate, 0.8-1.2 mm, inner tepals ovate to broadly ovate, 1.4-1.8 × 1.1-1.3 mm. Achenes ovoid to broadly ovoid, 1-1.3(-1.4) × 0.7-0.9 mm.

More info for the term: marsh

Stinging nettle is a common understory component of riparian communities
[30,50,52].  In the Santa Ana Mountains along the southern California
Coast, American stinging nettle occurs in the understory of a riparian
woodland dominated by California sycamore (Platanus racemosa), white
alder (Alnus rhombifolia), and red willow (Salix laevigata) [48].  In
Kern County, California, hoary nettle is abundant in the understory of a
Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii), Pacific willow (Salix
lasiandra), and red willow community [23].  In Montana, American
stinging nettle occurs in a western redcedar (Thuja plicata) community
in a ravine dissected by spring run-off channels [18].

Stinging nettle occurs in and adjacent to marshes and meadows.  In North
Dakota, stinging nettle occurs in a sedge (Carex spp.)-dominated zone
between an emergent marsh and upland meadow [29].

Stinging nettle occurs in moist forest communities in the southern
Appalachian Mountains [4].

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following Rangeland Cover Types (as classified by the Society for Range Management, SRM):

   201  Blue oak woodland
   202  Coast live oak woodland
   203  Riparian woodland
   217  Wetlands
   409  Tall forb
   413  Gambel oak
   422  Riparian
   805  Riparian

Stinging nettle occurs in moist sites along streams, coulees, and
ditches, on mountain slopes, in woodland clearings, and in disturbed
areas.  Stinging nettle generally grows on deep, rich soils [1,51].
American stinging nettle occurs from sea level to subalpine elevations.
Hoary nettle occurs from sea level to 10,000 feet (3,000 m) elevation in
the southern part of its range and from 2,300 to 6,600 feet (700-2,000
m) elevation in the northern part of its range [51].  Stinging nettle
persists in northern climates, spreading vegetatively rather than by
seed [40].

Stinging nettle occurs both in wetlands and in uplands.  It is a
facultative wetland species [36].  Stinging nettle is present in the
seasonally flooded emergent zone of oxbow lakes along the Connecticut
River [22].  Persistent flooding kills stinging nettle [20].

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

   Stinging nettle probably occurs in most ecosystems.

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

    63  Cottonwood
   222  Black cottonwood-willow
   228  Western redcedar
   229  Pacific Douglas-fir
   230  Douglas-fir-western hemlock
   234  Douglas-fir-tanoak-Pacific madrone
   237  Interior ponderosa pine
   243  Sierra Nevada mixed conifer
   244  Pacific ponderosa pine-Douglas-fir
   245  Pacific ponderosa pine
   246  California black oak
   249  Canyon live oak
   250  Blue oak-foothills pine
   255  California coast live oak

More info on this topic.

This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

   K002  Cedar-hemlock-Douglas-fir forest
   K005  Mixed conifer forest
   K011  Western ponderosa forest
   K012  Douglas-fir forest
   K013  Cedar-hemlock-pine forest
   K030  California oakwoods
   K037  Mountain-mahogany-oak scrub
   K093  Great Lakes spruce-fir forest
   K095  Great Lakes pine forest
   K096  Northeastern spruce-fir forest
   K097  Southeastern spruce-fir forest
   K098  Northern floodplain forest
   K102  Beech-maple forest
   K113  Southern floodplain forest

Moist places in forests, thickets, grasslands, stream banks; (500-) 2200-5000 m.

The common nettle prefers damp soils that are rich in nutrients. It occurs in a broad variety of habitats, such as woods, unmanaged grasslands, scrub, hedgerows, road verges, waste ground, gardens, farmland, fens and river banks (3).

Foodplant / saprobe
ascoma of Acrospermum compressum is saprobic on dead stem (esp. near base) of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 2-6
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / miner
solitary larva of Agromyza anthracina mines leaf of Urtica dioica
Other: sole host/prey

Foodplant / miner
larva of Agromyza pseudoreptans mines leaf of Urtica dioica
Other: sole host/prey

Foodplant / miner
larva of Agromyza reptans mines leaf of Urtica dioica
Other: sole host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
apothecium of Allophylaria macrospora is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 9-10

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Alernaria dematiaceous anamorph of Alternaria alternata is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica

Foodplant / internal feeder
larva of Apion urticarium feeds within stem node of Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
pulvinate colony of Arthrinium dematiaceous anamorph of Arthrinium urticae is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 11

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / spot causer
epiphyllous, scattered, immersed pycnidium of Ascochyta coelomycetous anamorph of Ascochyta urtica causes spots on leaf of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 8

Foodplant / saprobe
sessile apothecium of Belonidium sulphureum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 8-10
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / parasite
effuse colony of Botryosporium anamorph of Botryosporium pulchrum parasitises live Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 5-11
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
colony of Botrytis dematiaceous anamorph of Botrytis cinerea is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
colony of Cylindrocolla anamorph of Calloria neglecta is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-2

Foodplant / saprobe
gregarious, shortly stalked apothecium of Calycina herbarum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 9-12
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / feeds on
basidiome of Calyptella capula feeds on living, dying, dead Urtica dioica
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Camposporium dematiaceous anamorph of Camposporium pellucidum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica

Plant / resting place / on
adult of Chrysolina fastuosa may be found on Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 3-12

Foodplant / open feeder
adult of Chrysolina polita grazes on live leaf of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: (1-)5-7(-12)

Foodplant / saprobe
fruitbody of Coprinopsis urticicola is saprobic on decayed debris of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: summer

Foodplant / saprobe
fruitbody of Crepidotus luteolus is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
apothecium of Crocicreas coronatum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 9-11

Foodplant / saprobe
apothecium of Crocicreas cyathoideum var. cyathoideum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 3-10

Foodplant / gall
Cuscuta europaea causes gall of Urtica dioica
Other: major host/prey

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Cystolepiota bucknallii is associated with Urtica dioica

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Cystolepiota seminuda is associated with Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Dendryphiella dematiaceous anamorph of Dendryphiella infuscans is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 4-5

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Dendryphiella dematiaceous anamorph of Dendryphiella vinosa is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 5-9

Foodplant / saprobe
colony of Dendryphion dematiaceous anamorph of Dendryphion comosum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-12
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
colony of Dendryphion dematiaceous anamorph of Dendryphion nanum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
immersed perithecium of Diaporthe arctii is saprobic on dead, blackened stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 7-11

Foodplant / saprobe
densely scattered, immersed, scarcely erumpent pycnidium of Phomopsis coelomycetous anamorph of Diaporthe tulasnei is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-4

Foodplant / saprobe
stromatic, immersed, sometimes confluent conidioma of Apomelasmia coelomycetous anamorph of Diaporthopsis urticae is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 2-3

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Dictyosporium dematiaceous anamorph of Dictyosporium toruloides is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-12

Plant / associate
adult of Dicyphus errans is associated with live Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 6-10

Foodplant / saprobe
sessile apothecium of Discocistella grevillei is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 4-8

Foodplant / saprobe
hypophyllous fruitbody of Efibulobasidium albescens is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Entoloma pleopodium is associated with Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
colony of Epicoccum dematiaceous anamorph of Epicoccum nigrum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-12

Foodplant / parasite
cleistothecium of Erysiphe urticae parasitises live leaf of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 9-10

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Geastrum fimbriatum is associated with Urtica dioica
Other: major host/prey

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Geastrum fornicatum is associated with Urtica dioica
Other: unusual host/prey

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Geastrum lageniforme is associated with Urtica dioica
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
scattered or in small groups perithecium of Gibberella cyanogena is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: Autumn, Spring

Foodplant / saprobe
clustered perithecium of Gibberella pulicaris is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-4

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Gyrothrix dematiaceous anamorph of Gyrothrix verticillata is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 9

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Hebeloma pallidoluctuosum is associated with Urtica dioica

Plant / resting place / on
colony of Helicobasidium purpureum may be found on live stem of Urtica dioica
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / sap sucker
nymph of Heterogaster urticae sucks sap of Urtica dioica
Other: sole host/prey

Foodplant / feeds on
adult of Heterotoma planicornis feeds on bud of Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
superficial, scattered on in small groups, thinly subiculate perithecium of Hydropisphaera arenula is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-12

Foodplant / saprobe
sessile apothecium of Lachnum discolor is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 11

Foodplant / saprobe
apothecium of Laetinaevia carneoflavida is saprobic on damp, dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 6-7

Foodplant / saprobe
sessile apothecium of Lasiobelonium mollissimum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 4-7

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Lepiota boudieri is associated with Urtica dioica
Other: major host/prey

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Lepiota grangei is associated with Urtica dioica

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Lepiota griseovirens is associated with Urtica dioica
Other: minor host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
mostly superficial Phoma coelomycetous anamorph of Leptosphaeria acuta is saprobic on dead stem (esp. near base) of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 6-1

Foodplant / saprobe
erumpent pseudothecium of Leptosphaeria doliolum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-12
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
immersed, sometimes becoming free pseudothecium of Leptospora rubella is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 4-8

Foodplant / saprobe
immersed or semi-immersed pseudothecium of Lophiostoma angustilabrum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 2-10
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
immersed pseudothecium of Lophiostoma caudatum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-4

Foodplant / saprobe
immersed or semi-immersed pseudothecium of Lophiostoma caulium is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-12
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
immersed to partially erumpent pseudothecium of Lophiostoma origani var. rubidum is saprobic on dead, red to deep magenta stained stem of Urtica dioica
Other: major host/prey

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Macrocystidia cucumis is associated with Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
fruitbody of Marasmiellus candidus is saprobic on dead litter of Urtica dioica

Plant / resting place / within
puparium of Melanagromyza aenea may be found in stem of Urtica dioica
Other: sole host/prey

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Melanophyllum eyrei is associated with Urtica dioica

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Melanophyllum haematospermum is associated with Urtica dioica
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / sap sucker
Microlophium carnosum sucks sap of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-12
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
fruitbody of Mycena adscendens is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica

Foodplant / parasite
hypophyllous colony of Ramularia anamorph of Mycosphaerella superflua parasitises live leaf of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 4-9

Foodplant / saprobe
extensive, velvety colony of Cladosporium dematiaceous anamorph of Mycosphaerella tulasnei is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-12

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Myriostoma coliforme is associated with Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
immersed, then exposed apothecium of Naemacyclus caulium is saprobic on dead stem (near base) of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 4

Foodplant / feeds on
Nedyus quadrimaculatus feeds on Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
immersed, sometimes becoming superficial pseudothecium of Ophiobolus erythrosporus is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / sap sucker
nymph of Orthonotus rufifrons sucks sap of flower bud of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: late 5-

Foodplant / feeds on
larva of Parathelcus pollinarius feeds on Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
fruitbody of Pellidiscus pallidus is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Periconia dematiaceous anamorph of Periconia byssoides is saprobic on dead, patchily blackened stem of Urtica dioica
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Periconia dematiaceous anamorph of Periconia cookei is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Periconia dematiaceous anamorph of Periconia minutissima is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-12
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
synnema of Endophragmia dematiaceous anamorph of Phragmocephala atra is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 10-1

Foodplant / open feeder
imago of Phyllobius pomaceus grazes on live leaf of Urtica dioica

Foodplant / spot causer
scattered pycnidium of Phyllosticta coelomycetous anamorph of Phyllosticta urticae causes spots on live leaf of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 7

Plant / resting place / within
puparium of Phytomyza flavicornis may be found in stem of Urtica dioica
Other: sole host/prey

Foodplant / sap sucker
adult of Plagiognathus chrysanthemi sucks sap of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: late 6-9(10)
Other: minor host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
grouped, subepidermal perithecium of Plagiosphaera immersa is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 5-8

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Pleurophragmium dematiaceous anamorph of Pleurophragmium parvisporum is saprobic on dead, partly decorticate stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-12

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Polyscytalium dematiaceous anamorph of Polyscytalum berkeleyi is saprobic on dead stem (just above soil level) of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 3-5

Foodplant / saprobe
subcuticular to erumpent conidioma of Pseudolachnea coelomycetous anamorph of Pseudolachnea hispidula is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: esp. Winter

Foodplant / pathogen
hypophyllous colony of Pseudoperonospora urticae infects and damages live, yellowed leaf of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 9 & 5
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / gall
aecium of Puccinia urticata causes gall of live stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: early Spring

Foodplant / parasite
aecium of Puccinia urticata var. biporula parasitises live Urtica dioica

Foodplant / parasite
pycnium of Puccinia urticata var. urticae-acutae parasitises live Urtica dioica

Foodplant / parasite
pycnium of Puccinia urticata var. urticae-acutiformis parasitises live Urtica dioica

Foodplant / parasite
pycnium of Puccinia urticata var. urticae-flaccae parasitises live Urtica dioica

Foodplant / parasite
pycnium of Puccinia urticata var. urticae-hirtae parasitises live Urtica dioica

Foodplant / parasite
aecium of Puccinia urticata var. urticae-inflatae parasitises live Urtica dioica

Foodplant / parasite
pycnium of Puccinia urticata var. urticae-ripariae parasitises live Urtica dioica

Foodplant / parasite
aecium of Puccinia urticata var. urticae-vesicariae parasitises live Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
immersed pycnidium of Pyrenochaeta coelomycetous anamorph of Pyrenochaeta fallax is saprobic on dead, patchily grey stem of Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
apothecium of Pyrenopeziza urticicola is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 4-8

Foodplant / saprobe
scattered, subepidermal, black pycnidium of Rhabdospora coelomycetous anamorph of Rhabdospora pleosporoides is saprobic on old, dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 1-3

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Rhodocybe gemina is associated with Urtica dioica
Other: minor host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
superficial colony of Sarcopodium dematiaceous anamorph of Sarcopodium circinatum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
tufted colony of Septofusidium anamorph of Septofusidium herbarum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica

Foodplant / spot causer
immersed, epiphyllous, numerous, greyish-brown pycnidium of Septoria coelomycetous anamorph of Septoria urticae causes spots on live leaf of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 5-8

Foodplant / saprobe
colony of Stachybotrys dematiaceous anamorph of Stachybotrys dichroa is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 4-9

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Stachylidium dematiaceous anamorph of Stachylidium bicolor is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Stropharia caerulea is associated with Urtica dioica

Foodplant / feeds on
female of Thrips urticae feeds on live flower of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 5-10

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Torula dematiaceous anamorph of Torula herbarum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
effuse colony of Trichocladium dematiaceous anamorph of Trichocladium opacum is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Tubaria albostipitata is associated with Urtica dioica

Foodplant / saprobe
fruitbody of Typhula micans is saprobic on dying stem of Urtica dioica
Other: major host/prey

Plant / associate
fruitbody of Tyromyces wynnei is associated with Urtica dioica
Other: major host/prey

Foodplant / saprobe
apothecium of Unguiculella hamulata is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 5-9

Foodplant / saprobe
colony of Volutella anamorph of Volutella ciliata is saprobic on dead stem of Urtica dioica
Remarks: season: 10-4

More info for the term: prescribed fire

Hamilton's Research Papers (Hamilton 2006a, Hamilton 2006b)and Metlen and
others' Research Project Summary provide information on prescribed fire
and postfire response of many plant species including stinging nettle.

More info for the terms: competition, cover, density, frequency, litter, marsh, rhizome, wildfire

Stinging nettle regenerates from buried rhizomes and/or seed after fire.
Stinging nettle bloomed during the first postfire growing season on a
ravine site in western Montana that burned in mid-July.  Although
stinging nettle thrives on disturbance, its rate of spread after the
fire on this site may have been slowed by competition from orchard grass
(Dactylis glomerata) [8].

One year after a wildfire in northern Utah, stinging nettle was present
at low frequency on plots in a burned Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii)
brush community but was not present on adjacent unburned plots [30].

In southern California, large amounts of sediment were deposited in a
riparian zone after a July fire in a riparian forest dominated by coast
live oak (Q. agrifolia), white alder, and California sycamore.  Stinging
nettle emerged from the sediment and was a common species on lower and
middle terraces in the riparian zone during the 3 years following the
fire [9].

Stinging nettle occurred in a central Wisconsin marsh dominated by
goldenrod (Solidago spp.), butter-and-eggs (Linaria vulgaris), white
meadowsweet (Spiraea alba), and grasses.  Fire was prescribed on two
sites in the spring 1 week after snowmelt.  Approximately 96 percent of
the dry surface fuels were eliminated.  Vegetation was inventoried
during the growing seasons before and after the fires.  Stinging nettle
prefire and postfire covers are as follows [19]:

Prefire cover Postfire cover
Site 1              2.0%      1.8%
Site 2             less than 0.5%      2.5%

Stinging nettle shoot density and biomass after fire depends on the
season of burn.  Stinging nettle shoots per square meter and biomass
measured the first growing season after each fire in a common reed
(Phragmites australis) stand in Delta Marsh, Manitoba, are as follows:

      Density                         Biomass
              (nonseedling shoots/sq m)             (grams/sq m)

Control          6.7 36.2
Summer fire 18.4 33.9
Fall fire  4.9 10.3
Spring fire 18.8 52.9

Stinging nettle biomass was less than in the control the first growing
season after the fall fire.  The authors suggest that the stinging
nettle rhizome buds may have succumbed to winterkill after the fall fire
because there were no dead standing canes to trap snow and insulate the
soil.  Stinging nettle biomass was greater than in the control in the
first growing season after the spring fire.  Stinging nettle is capable
of fast growth and, with the removal of common reed litter by fire, was
able to compete with the common reed.  Stinging nettle biomass did not
differ substantially from the control 1 year after the summer fire.
There were more shoots per meter after the summer fire but the shoots
were smaller than in the control, possibly because resources were depleted
by regrowth immediately after the summer fire [43].

Stinging nettle seedlings established at a density of 6.9 seedlings per
square foot (76.8/sq m) 1 month after the summer fire.  Only a few
seedlings established after the fall and spring fires [43]. 

More info for the term: low-severity fire

Stinging nettle is probably top-killed by fire.  Perennating buds on
shallow rhizomes probably survive low-severity fire.

More info for the terms: ground residual colonizer, rhizome

   Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
   Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
   Initial-offsite colonizer (off-site, initial community)

Stinging nettle survives fire by sprouting from rhizomes.  Removal of
litter by fire may encourage stinging nettle growth and provide suitable
germination sites for seed.  However, frequent fire during the growing
season may reduce stinging nettle [43].

More info on this topic.

More info for the terms: competition, fern

Stinging nettle is probably intermediate in shade tolerance.  It occurs
and produces seed in shady habitats but produces more seed in full sun
[1].

Stinging nettle establishes colonies from which other plants are
virtually excluded.  Competition from grass may limit the spread of
stinging nettle clones [1]

Stinging nettle invades disturbed sites.  It invades forest plantations
in Great Britain when bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) is artificially
removed [5].  Stinging nettle colonizes wetland sites when water levels
drop [20,33].  It is an increaser on periodically flooded areas along
Idaho streams [37].

More info for the term: marsh

Stinging nettle reproduces vegetatively and by seed.

Stinging nettle produces abundant seed.  Plants growing in the shade
produce approximately 500 to 5,000 seeds per shoot and plants growing in
full sunlight produce 10,000 to 20,000 seeds per shoot.  Seeds remain on
the plant until frost when they fall to the ground.  Seeds are not
dormant and can germinate 5 to 10 days after maturity [1]. 

Buried stinging nettle seeds persist an undetermined length of time in
the seedbank [7,26,33,34,44].  Stinging nettle seedlings emerged from
unflooded substrate samples collected from the Delta Marsh, Manitoba
[33].  Stinging nettle seeds, mostly buried less than 2 inches (5 cm)
deep, occurred in the seedbanks of three forest communities in Idaho
[26].  Stinging nettle seedlings emerged from soil samples collected
from a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa)/common snowberry (Symphoricarpos
albus) habitat type in Washington.  April collections contained 48
stinging nettle seeds per square foot (533/sq m) and October collections
contained 6 seeds per square foot (67/sq m).  Most stinging nettle seeds
were buried less than 4 inches (10 cm) deep, but some were present to 10
inches (25 cm) [34].  Stinging nettle seeds have germinated in the
greenhouse after 10 years of storage [1].

Stinging nettle spreads and reproduces vegetatively by rhizomes.
Seedlings initiate vegetative spread in the first growing season.  A
rhizome planted in late summer can spread into an 8.2 foot (2.5 m)
diameter area by the following year [1].

Stinging nettle has a strong shoot thrust.  The ability to generate
mechanical force enables the plant to extend its shoots vertically into
dominant aerial positions [6].

More info on this topic.

More info for the term: hemicryptophyte

  
   Hemicryptophyte

More info for the term: forb

Forb

More info on this topic.

Stinging nettle sends new shoots up each year from perennating buds on
rhizomes.  Maximum root development occurs in the spring prior to
flowering.  American stinging nettle flowers from late May to October,
European stinging nettle flowers from June to October, and hoary nettle
flowers from July to October.  In northern areas, flowering is condensed
into a shorter time period, ending in late August [1,51].

Fl. Per.: May-September.

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 13
Specimens with Barcodes: 28
Species With Barcodes: 1

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Extremely common and widespread (3).

This species is not threatened.

More info for the terms: invasive species, marsh

Stinging nettle is considered a weedy, invasive species.  It is listed
as a noxious weed in several Canadian provinces.  Stinging nettle hairs
are irritating to human skin, and the pollen is a major contributor to
summer hay fever [1].

When distributed through the soil by disturbance such as mechanical
cultivation, stinging nettle rhizomes can establish dense new colonies.
However, repeated plowing will eliminate stinging nettle.  When mowed,
stinging nettle sends up numerous bushy shoots [1].

Spraying with 2,4-D herbicide substantially reduced stinging nettle
cover in a central Wisconsin marsh [19].

Stinging nettle is used by foresters as an indicator of high soil
fertility [38].

Insects, micro-organisms, and viruses associated with stinging nettle
are listed [1].

Due to its popularity in some circles as an edible plant, it may be purchased and cultivated. If grown, ensure that it does not spread beyond the planted site by removing flowers and fruits and killing back if it does begin to beyond the intended area. Manual, mechanical and chemical methods are available and effective.

Conservation action is not required for this species.

Comments: This plant is a source of fiber. Stinging nettle - hairs can penetrate skin and be fatal.

Our ancestors used nettles

• as food
• for fibre
• in medicine

and some of these uses are being revived today.

Food
Young shoots of nettle can be

• eaten as a green vegetable, similar to spinach
• used in
  • soups
  • quiches
• are good simply mashed with potatoes

Early in the nineteenth century in Scotland nettles were valued for food to the extent that they were cultivated under glass.

Fibre
Nettles have a long history as a source of fibre, and as a dye. During the Second World War schoolchildren were encouraged to collect nettles so that a dark green dye, used for camouflage, could be extracted from them.

Medicine
In the British Isles it was widely thought that beating limbs with nettles would relieve rheumatic pains. At present research is being carried out into the use of nettles to cure arthritis. Other medicinal uses include the treatment of

• asthma
• skin complaints
• hay fever
• as a spring tonic

This plant can become well established in floodplain areas and push out native plants, impacting spring ephemeral species as well as those that emerge later in spring and through the summer.