Scientific name: Urtica dioica L.
Common name: Common Nettle, Stinging Nettle
Description
Habit: A hairy perennial, to 2 m high.
Stems: Erect, covered with stinging hairs, with rhizomes and / or stolons.
Leaves: Opposite, with stipules, 5-10 cm long, undivided, oval, pointed, strongly toothed, covered with stinging hairs; leaf stalk no more than half as long as leaf blade.
Flowers: Green, actinomorphic, dioecious, in dense, axillary spikes up to 10 cm long; calyx with 4 sepals; corolla absent; stamens 4; ovary superior; male flowers with equal calyx-lobes; female flowers with 2 lobed larger.
Fruits: An achene, seed ovoid, pale, flattened.
Habitat: Wide variety of habitats, mostly close to roads or human settlements.Distribution: Abundant throughout.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No