Florida Hedge-nettle
Stachys floridana
In the Carolinas and Georgia, found in disturbed sites, roadsides, gardens; probably not native northward of Florida. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Arkansas. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 71%
- Height
- Up to about 2 feet
- Light
- Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
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Do not plant. Listed invasive in Arkansas.
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- April to July
- Fruiting season
- May to August
Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 4 Arkansas counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Who uses this plant?
11CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Stachys
- Amblyptilia picaGeranium Plume Moth
- Clepsis peritanaGarden Tortrix
- Endothenia hebesanaVerbena Bud Moth
- Euptoieta claudiaVariegated Fritillary, (?)Gulf Fritillary
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Megalographa bilobaBilobed Looper Moth
- Ogdoconta cinereolaCommon Pinkband Groundling
- Vanessa carduiPainted Lady, Cosmopolite
- Endothenia montanana
- Endothenia nubilana
Show all 11
- Pelochrista womonana
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Stachys
- Ortalis vetulaPlain Chachalaca
- Spinus tristisAmerican Goldfinch
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Plant details
- Family
- Lamiaceae
- Flower color
- Pink or white
- Fruit begins
- May
- Fruit ends
- August
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “April to July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Fruit begins · “May” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition · Carolinas and Georgia
- Height · “Up to about 2 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · 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; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Florida Hedge Nettle
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5? |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Arkansas (2013)
- USDA PLANTS
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- 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