Stinging Nettle

Urtica dioica

-85

Severe harm

Not native to Virginia. 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 Virginia.

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.

Recorded in 32 Virginia counties and cities.

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 127 animals.

Sora
Porzana carolina
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Swainson's Warbler
Limnothlypis swainsonii
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Veery
Catharus fuscescens
Birds. 1 shared habitat
White-eyed Vireo
Vireo griseus
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Wild Turkey
Meleagris gallopavo
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Worm-eating Warbler
Helmitheros vermivorum
Birds. 1 shared habitat
Yellow-throated Warbler
Dendroica dominica
Birds. 1 shared habitat

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

33CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Urtica

Polygonia interrogationisQuestion Mark
Vanessa atalantaRed Admiral
Abrostola ovalisWhite-Shouldered Nettle Moth
Abrostola urentisNettle Looper, Spectacled Nettle Moth, Variegated Brindle
Acronicta impressaImpressive Dagger, Printed Dagger
Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
Agonopterix pulvipennellaGoldenrod Leaffolder, Featherduster Agonopterix
Allagrapha aereaUnspotted Looper Moth
Archips negundanaLarger Boxelder Leafroller Moth
Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth

Show all 33

Dysstroma truncataMarbled Carpet
Euplexia benesimilisAmerican Angle Shades
Herpetogramma pertextalisBold-Feathered Grass Moth
Heterophleps refusariaThree-Patch Bigwing
Heterophleps triguttariaThree-Spotted Fillip
Hypena edictalisLarge Bomolocha, Large Snout
Hypena humuliHop Snout Moth, Hop Vine Snout, Hop Looper
Hypena sordidulaSordid Bomolocha, Sordid Snout
Iridopsis humariaSmall Purplish Gray
Melanchra adjunctaHitched Arches
Melanchra assimilisBlack Arches
Morrisonia confusaConfused Woodgrain
Nymphalis milbertiMilbert's Tortoise Shell, Fire-Rim Tortoise Shell
Orthotaenia undulanaDusky Leafroller
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
Herpetogramma aquilonalis

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

Virginia rank	S5
Global rank	G5
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

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