Heartleaf Nettle
Urtica chamaedryoides
Found in rich moist soil, usually on floodplains. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- Height
- Up to about 32 inches
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist

At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Bloom
- September to May
- Fruiting season
- November to July
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 19 Alabama counties.
Habitats
Floodplain and bottomland forests.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 94 animals.
- Acadian FlycatcherEmpidonax virescens
- American CrowCorvus brachyrhynchos
- American GoldfinchCarduelis tristis
- American KestrelFalco sparverius
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- American WoodcockScolopax minor
- Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus
- Baltimore OrioleIcterus galbula
- Barred OwlStrix varia
- Belted KingfisherMegaceryle alcyon
- Black VultureCoragyps atratus
- Black-and-White WarblerMniotilta varia
- Blue GrosbeakPasserina caerulea
- Blue JayCyanocitta cristata
- Blue-gray GnatcatcherPolioptila caerulea
- Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus
- Brown CreeperCerthia americana
- Brown ThrasherToxostoma rufum
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Carolina ChickadeePoecile carolinensis
- Carolina WrenThryothorus ludovicianus
- Cedar WaxwingBombycilla cedrorum
- Chimney SwiftChaetura pelagica
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
Who uses this plant?
20CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Urtica
- Polygonia interrogationisQuestion Mark
- Vanessa atalantaRed Admiral
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Allagrapha aereaUnspotted Looper Moth
- Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
- Euplexia benesimilisAmerican Angle Shades
- Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
- Heterophleps triguttariaThree-Spotted Fillip
- Hypena humuliHop Snout Moth, Hop Vine Snout, Hop Looper
- Hypena sordidulaSordid Bomolocha, Sordid Snout
Show all 20
- Iridopsis humariaSmall Purplish Gray
- Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
- Pandemis lamprosanaWoodgrain Leafroller
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
- Polygonia commaEastern Comma
- Pyrrharctia isabellaIsabella Tiger Moth, Banded Woolybear
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Vanessa virginiensisAmerican Lady, American Painted Lady
- Zanclognatha cruralisEarly Zanclognatha, Early Fan-Foot
1BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Urtica
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Urticaceae
- Flower color
- Green or white
- Fruit begins
- November
- Fruit ends
- July
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “September to May” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Fruit begins · “November” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “July” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “Up to about 32 inches” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Heart Leaf Nettle
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4G5 |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications

























