Florida Hedge-nettle
Stachys floridana
Found in disturbed sites, roadsides, gardens; probably not native northward of Florida. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
Not native to Mississippi. 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 Mississippi.
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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 17 Mississippi 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?
8CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Stachys
- 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
- 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
| Mississippi rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5? |
| MS status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition
- USDA PLANTS
- Mississippi 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