Heartleaf Nettle
Urtica chamaedryoides
Found in rich moist soil, usually on floodplains. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
Native to West Virginia. 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
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves
County records are not available.
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.
Who uses this plant?
32CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including WV
Genus host records with ranges including WV · Urtica
- Polygonia interrogationisQuestion Mark
- Vanessa atalantaRed Admiral
- Abrostola ovalisWhite-Shouldered Nettle Moth
- Acronicta impressaImpressive Dagger, Printed Dagger
- Acronicta oblinitaSmeared Dagger
- Agonopterix pulvipennellaGoldenrod Leaffolder, Featherduster Agonopterix
- Allagrapha aereaUnspotted Looper Moth
- Autographa bimaculataTwo-Spotted Looper Moth
- Chrysodeixis includensSoybean Looper Moth
- Dysstroma truncataMarbled Carpet
Show all 32
- 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
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 4.0No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
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
| West Virginia rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4G5 |
| WV status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Florida edition
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- West Virginia 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

