Stinging Nettle

Urtica dioica

-30

Harmful

Native to Arkansas (estimated). How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 65%

Height: 3–9 feet
Spread: 1–3 feet
Light: Dappled sunlight, Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture: Usually moist

Urtica dioica — foliage photograph — no rights reserved · CC0 · Original photograph

Do not plant. Listed invasive in Arkansas.

At a glance

Life cycle: Perennial

Not yet recorded · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

County records are not available.

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Arkansas. Shared habitat, not food. 69 animals.

Widespread birds also seen here (58)

Found in many habitats here, so not listed above.

All wildlife of Arkansas

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

22CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR

Genus host records with ranges including AR · Urtica

Polygonia interrogationisQuestion Mark
Vanessa atalantaRed Admiral
Acronicta impressaImpressive Dagger, Printed Dagger
Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
Allagrapha aereaUnspotted Looper Moth
Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
Euplexia benesimilisAmerican Angle Shades
Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
Heterophleps refusariaThree-Patch Bigwing
Heterophleps triguttariaThree-Spotted Fillip

Show all 22

Hypena humuliHop Snout Moth, Hop Vine Snout, Hop Looper
Hypena sordidulaSordid Bomolocha, Sordid Snout
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

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist beesPollen specialists

—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Urticaceae
Hardiness: Zones 4a–10b
Flower color: Green or white

What its natural habitat tells you

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Flower color · “Green or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
Hardiness · “Zones 4a–10b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Height · “3–9 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Fire Effects Information System: Urtica dioica, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Minnesota Wildflowers differ)
Life cycle · “Perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); 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 (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
Soil · “Moist; Occasionally wet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
Spread · “1–3 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox

Also known as

European Stinging Nettle; Great Nettle

Conservation status

Arkansas rank	SNR
Global rank	G5
AR status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

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