Heartleaf Nettle
Urtica chamaedryoides
Found in rich moist soil, usually on floodplains. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
47
Good
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
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Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
Recorded in 19 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Floodplain and bottomland forests
Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 94 animals.
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- OvenbirdSeiurus aurocapilla
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Pine SiskinCarduelis pinus
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
- Scarlet TanagerPiranga olivacea
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Summer TanagerPiranga rubra
- Tufted TitmouseBaeolophus bicolor
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- White-breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensis
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- White-winged DoveZenaida asiatica
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
Ecological relationships
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 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claimNo records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
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” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Fruit begins · “November” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · 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 |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition
- 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