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Stinging Nettle

Urtica dioica

49
Good

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

Profile 82%

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

Space about 2 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 25 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

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 2 West Virginia counties.

Also found with this plant

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

All wildlife of West Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

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
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
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 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

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
Also known as

European Stinging Nettle; Great Nettle

Conservation status

West Virginia rankS5
Global rankG5
WV statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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How to check your spot

Sources