View source for Urtica

{{SPlantbox
|familia=Urticaceae
|genus=Urtica
|common_name=Stinging nettle, Nettle
|name_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|poisonous=Toxic sting
|features=edible
|Temp Metric=°F
|image=Urtica-dioica(Blueten).jpg
|image_width=240
}}
'''Nettle''' is the common name for between 30-45 species of [[flowering plant]]s of the genus ''Urtica'' in the family [[Urticaceae]], with a [[cosmopolitan distribution|cosmopolitan]] though mainly temperate distribution. They are mostly [[herbaceous]] [[perennial plant]]s, but some are [[annual plant|annual]] and a few are [[shrub]]by.

The most prominent member of the [[genus]] is the [[stinging nettle]] ''Urtica dioica'',{{citation needed|date=February 2010}} native to [[Europe]], [[Africa]], [[Asia]], and [[North America]]. The genus also contains a number of other species with similar properties, listed below.

{{Inc|
Urtica (classical name, alluding to the burning hairs). Urticaceae. Nettle. About 30 annual and perennial erect simple or branching slender herbs, widely distributed, little if at all planted because of the stinging hairs and sts. and lvs.: fls. small, greenish and inconspicuous, racemose, spicate or clustered in the axils, monoecious or dioecious, sometimes hermaphrodite; sterile fls. with 4 sepals and 4 stamens; fertile fls. with 2 pairs of sepals and a single erect ovary: lvs. simple, opposite, strongly nerved, dentate or crenate or incised. Several species of nettle are native in N. Amer. and a few are intro. weeds. The plants have very little ornamental value.
{{SCH}}
}}

==Cultivation==


===Propagation===


===Pests and diseases===


==Species==
Species in the genus ''Urtica'', and their primary natural ranges, include:
*''Urtica angustifolia'' Fisch. ex Hornem. 1819. [[China]], [[Japan]], [[Korea]].
*''Urtica ardens''. China.
*''Urtica atrichocaulis''. [[Himalaya]], southwestern China.
*''Urtica atrovirens''. Western [[Mediterranean region]].
*''Urtica cannabina'' L. 1753. Western [[Asia]] from [[Siberia]] to [[Iran]].
*''Urtica chamaedryoides'' (heartleaf nettle). Southeastern [[North America]].
*''[[Urtica dioica]]'' L. 1753 (stinging nettle or bull nettle). [[Europe]], [[Asia]], North America.
*''Urtica dubia'' (large-leaved nettle). [[Canada]].
*''[[Urtica ferox]]'' ([[Ongaonga (tree)|ongaonga]] or tree nettle). [[New Zealand]].
*''Urtica fissa''. China.
*''[[Urtica dioica galeopsifolia|Urtica galeopsifolia]]'' Wierzb. ex Opiz, 1825, (fen nettle or stingless nettle). Europe. (Often considered a subspecies of ''Urtica dioica''.)
*''Urtica gracilenta'' (mountain nettle). [[Arizona]], [[New Mexico]], west [[Texas]], northern [[Mexico]].
*''Urtica hyperborea''. [[Himalaya]] from [[Pakistan]] to [[Bhutan]], [[Mongolia]] and [[Tibet]], high altitudes.
*''[[Urtica incisa]]'' ([[Urtica incisa|scrub nettle]]). [[Australia]].
*''Urtica kioviensis'' Rogow. 1843. Eastern Europe.
*''Urtica laetivirens'' Maxim. 1877. Japan, [[Manchuria]].
*''Urtica linearifolia''. Creeping or Swamp Nettle. [[New Zealand]].
*''Urtica mairei''. Himalaya, southwestern China, northeastern [[India]], [[Myanmar]].
*''Urtica membranacea''. Mediterranean region, [[Azores]].
*''Urtica morifolia''. [[Canary Islands]] (endemic).
*''Urtica parviflora''. Himalaya (lower altitudes).
*''Urtica pilulifera'' ([[Roman nettle]]). Southern Europe.
*''Urtica platyphylla'' Wedd. 1856-1857. China, Japan.
*''Urtica pubescens'' Ledeb. 1833. Southwestern [[Russia]] east to central Asia.
*''Urtica rupestris''. [[Sicily]] (endemic).
*''Urtica sondenii'' (Simmons) Avrorin ex Geltman, 1988. Northeastern Europe, northern Asia.
*''Urtica taiwaniana''. [[Taiwan]].
*''[[Urtica thunbergiana]]''. Japan, [[Taiwan]].
*''Urtica triangularisa''
*''[[Urtica urens]]'' L. 1753 ([[dwarf nettle]] or annual nettle). Europe, North America.

The family Urticaceae also contains some other plants called nettles that are not members of the genus ''Urtica''. These include the [[wood nettle]] ''Laportea canadensis'', found in eastern [[North America]] from [[Nova Scotia]] to [[Florida]], and the [[false nettle]] ''Boehmeria cylindrica'', found in most of the [[United States]] east of the [[Rockies]]. As its name implies, the false nettle does not sting.

==Gallery==

<gallery perrow=5>
Image:Upload.png| photo 1
Image:Upload.png| photo 2
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==References==
<references/>
<!--- xxxxx  *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381  -->
<!--- xxxxx  *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432  -->
<!--- xxxxx  *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608  -->

==External links==
*{{wplink}}

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