''Urtica urens'', commonly known as annual nettle, dwarf nettle, small nettle, dog nettle, or burning nettle, is a herbaceous annual
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
species in the nettle family
Urticaceae
The Urticaceae are a family, the nettle family, of flowering plants. The family name comes from the genus ''Urtica''. The Urticaceae include a number of well-known and useful plants, including nettles in the genus ''Urtica'', ramie (''Boehmeri ...
. It is native to Eurasia, including the Himalayan regions of Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Sikkim in India and can be found in North America, New Zealand and South Africa as an
introduced species
An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...
. It is reputed to sting more strongly than
common nettle.
Description
Unlike the
perennial
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...
and
dioecious stinging nettle ''Urtica dioica'', ''Urtica urens'' is an
annual plant,
monoecious (with male and female flowers on the same plant) and generally much shorter. It can be distinguished from the stinging nettle by its more rounded leaves with coarser, deeper toothing and with the terminal tooth of similar length to the adjacent teeth. The lower leaves are shorter than their longer petioles and have stinging hairs only.
Distribution
The native distribution of ''Urtica urens'' includes most of Europe except the British Isles, northern Asia, north and north-west Africa.
In the British Isles, ''Urtica urens'' is an archaeophyte, an ancient introduction.
It has been introduced to all other continents of the world except Antarctica.
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Organism interactions
In Europe, ''Urtica urens'' is one of the food plants of the small tortoiseshell
The small tortoiseshell (''Aglais urticae'') is a colourful Eurasian butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Adults feed on nectar and may hibernate over winter; in warmer climates they may have two broods in a season. While the dorsal surface of th ...
butterfly (''Aglais urticae''). In New Zealand it is also a food plant for the New Zealand red admiral
The New Zealand red admiral (''Vanessa gonerilla'') is a butterfly endemic to New Zealand. Its Māori name is ''kahukura,'' which means "red cloak". The red admiral is a member of the family Nymphalidae, the subfamily Nymphalinae and the tribe ...
butterfly (''Bassaris gonerilla'', syn. ''Vanessa gonerilla'', syn. ''Papilio gonerilla''), and the Australian / New Zealand yellow admiral
The yellow admiral or Australian admiral (''Vanessa itea'') is a butterfly native to Australia, New Zealand, Lord Howe Island, and Norfolk Islands. The Māori name is , which means "yellow cloak". The yellow admiral is a member of the fami ...
butterfly (''Vanessa itea'').[ ]
References
External links
Jepson Manual TreatmentPhoto gallery
urens
Flora of Europe
Flora of temperate Asia
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{Urticaceae-stub