Urtica dioica, often known as common nettle, stinging nettle or nettle leaf, or just a nettle or stinger, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant in the family Urticaceae. Originally native to Europe, much of temperate Asia and western North Africa, it is now found worldwide, including New Zealand and North America. The species is divided into six subspecies, five of which have many hollow stinging hairs called trichomes on the leaves and stems, which act like hypodermic needles, injecting histamine and other chemicals that produce a stinging sensation upon contact. The plant has a long history of use as a source for traditional medicine, food, tea, and textile raw material in ancient societies such as the Saxons.
Urtica is a genus of flowering plants in the family Urticaceae. Many species have stinging hairs and may be called nettles or stinging nettles, although the latter name applies particularly to Urtica dioica.
Lamium (dead-nettles) is a genus of about 40–50 species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae, of which it is the type genus. They are all herbaceous plants native to Europe, Asia, and northern Africa, but several have become very successful weeds of crop fields and are now widely naturalised across much of the temperate world.
Lamium purpureum, known as red dead-nettle, purple dead-nettle, or purple archangel, is a herbaceous flowering plant native to Europe and Asia.
The Atlantic sea nettle, also known as the East Coast sea nettle or US Atlantic sea nettle, is a species of jellyfish that inhabits the Atlantic coast of the United States. Historically it was confused with several Chrysaora species, resulting in incorrect reports of C. quinquecirrha from other parts of the Atlantic and other oceans. Most recently, C. chesapeakei of estuaries on the Atlantic coast of the United States, as well as the Gulf of Mexico, was only fully recognized as separate from C. quinquecirrha in 2017. It is smaller than the Pacific sea nettle, and has more variable coloration, but is typically pale, pinkish or yellowish, often with radiating more deeply colored stripes on the exumbrella, especially near the margin.
Parietaria officinalis, the eastern pellitory-of-the-wall, also known as upright pellitory and lichwort, is a plant of the nettle family. Its leaves, however, are non-stinging. The plant grows on rubbish and on walls, hence the name.
Dendrocnide is a genus of 37 species of shrubs to large trees in the nettle family Urticaceae. They have a wide distribution across Southeast Asia, North East India, Australia and the Pacific Islands.
Galeopsis tetrahit, the common hemp-nettle or brittlestem hempnettle, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe and northwestern Asia.
The Bottle Inn is a 16th-century public house at Marshwood in Dorset, England which hosts the World Nettle Eating Championship.
Ridolfia segetum, called false fennel, corn parsley, or false caraway, is an annual weed of the Mediterranean region. Its height 40–100 cm. The stem is erect, striate, and branched. The glabrous leaves are finely divided several times with filiform leaflets, the upper leaves frequently reduced, and the base of the petiole enlarged. The flowers are yellow, arranged in small umbels with almost uniform rays (10-60).
Galeopsis ladanum var. angustifolia, the red hemp-nettle, is a European annual plant growing to 30 cm tall. It flowers between June and October on waste ground, railway tracks, and other stony places. It is classified as critically endangered, having declined dramatically in the last 60 years due to increased fertiliser and herbicide. Modern farming techniques such as autumn cultivation have also affected the plant because they are killed before they have set seed.
Urtica urens, commonly known as annual nettle, dwarf nettle, small nettle, dog nettle, or burning nettle, is a herbaceous annual flowering plant species in the nettle family Urticaceae. It is native to Eurasia and it can be found in North America, New Zealand and South Africa as an introduced species. It is reputed to sting more strongly than common nettle.
Laportea canadensis, commonly called Canada nettle or wood-nettle, is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant of the nettle family Urticaceae, native to eastern and central North America. It is found growing in open woods with moist rich soils and along streams and in drainages.
Urtica dioica subsp. galeopsifolia, the fen nettle or stingless nettle, is a herbaceous perennial plant found in Europe. It is considered to be either a subspecies of stinging nettle, or a species in its own right: Urtica galeopsifolia.
Galeopsis bifida is an annual plant native to Europe and Asia but now found in Canada and the northeastern, midwestern parts of the United States. It has many common names such as bifid hemp-nettle, split-lip hemp-nettle, common hemp-nettle, and large-flowered hemp-nettle. The genus name means weasel-like, referring to the corolla of the flower. It is often confused with other species of Lamiaceae such as Mentha arvensis, Dracocephalum parviflorum and Stachys pilosa.
Nettle soup is a traditional soup prepared from stinging nettles. Nettle soup is eaten mainly during spring and early summer, when young nettle buds are collected. Today, nettle soup is mostly eaten in Scandinavia, Iran, Ireland, and Eastern Europe, with regional differences in recipe; however historically consumption of nettles was more widespread.
Galeopsis, commonly called hemp-nettle or hempnettle, is a genus of annual herbaceous plants native to Europe and Asia. Some species are naturalized in North America and New Zealand.
A stinging plant or a plant with stinging hairs is a plant with hairs (trichomes) on its leaves or stems that are capable of injecting substances that cause pain or irritation.
Urtica pilulifera, also known as the Roman nettle, is a herbaceous annual flowering plant in the family Urticaceae.
