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Urtica gracilis
Also called Slender Stinging Nettle
Slender nettle is a perennial herb with stinging hairs on its leaves and stems, native to much of North and temperate South America. It is easily confused with the Eurasian stinging nettle, and its key feature is the sting on the leaf underside.
Urtica gracilis, commonly known as the slender nettle, tall nettle, or American stinging nettle, is a perennial plant without woody stems that is well known for the unpleasant stinging hairs on its leaves and stems. It is native to much of the North American continent from Guatemala northwards and temperate areas of South America. It is easily confused with the visually very similar Eurasian species Urtica dioica and is still listed in some resources as a subspecies of this plant. However, genetic analysis and experiments show that they are genetically distinct.
This species habitat is in high and low forested floodplains, gravel and sand bars in streams.
Narrow-leaf nettle · Urtica aspera · Southern Nettle · Kentucky Hemp · Heartleaf nettle · Urtica dioica subsp. afghanica · Stinging nettle · Fen Nettle · Common Nettle · Tree Nettle · Urtica fissa · Urtica hyperborea
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Urtica gracilis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
