Species:
Urtica urens
Family: Urticaceae (Nettle family).
Common names: Dwarf nettle, Annual nettle, Burning nettle, English stinging nettle, Lesser nettle, Lesser stinging nettle, Nettle, Small nettle, Stinging nettle.
Confused with: Deadnettle and stagger weed.
The species can be distinguished by: • Seedlings – dwarf nettle leaves are dark green with sharply serrated edges. Stems are reddish towards the base. Stagger weed leaves are yellowish-green and egg-shaped, longer than they are wide. Stagger weed leaves have a minty smell when crushed. Deadnettle are darker green than stagger weed and more of a pointed-fan shape, wider than they are long.
• Flowers – Dwarf nettle flower are white and very small. The flower head is green. Stagger weed pale pink to pale lilac. Deadnettle flowers are purple to bright red.
Description: Seedling leaves – are roundly oval, 3 - 5 mm in diameter and with stalks 1 – 2 mm long. The first true leaves are broadly circular, with noticeable indentations on the sides. Leaves are lightly covered in hairs, and are corrugated by central and lateral veins. The leaf margins are roundly toothed.
Older leaves - are dark green, 10 – 50 mm long and 10 – 40 mm wide, borne on leaf stems 10 – 30 mm long. The underside of the leaf is paler in colour than the top. Leaves are lightly covered in stinging hairs, and are corrugated by central and lateral veins. The leaf margins are sharply toothed, with a serrated appearance.
Plants – an erect annual to 60 cm high, dark green in colour. Stems are green at the top with vertical red stripes for much of the length and covered with stinging hairs.
Flowers – are very small and white, and occur in clusters in the upper leaf axils. The green flowering structures are much more apparent than the flowers.
Seeds – are a pointed oval shape, flattened, light brown, 2 – 2.5 mm long.
Lifecycle/Biology: An annual plant that emerges over the cooler months, flowering soon after emergence in winter and spring.
Ecology: A weed of gardens, waste areas, cultivation and stock camps. Well adapted to all soil types, but favours high organic matter content.
The problem: A common and minor weed of cultivation. Dwarf nettle is not controlled by typical field rates of glyphosate and rarely eaten by livestock.
Distribution: Common in all states.
Origin: A cosmopolitan weed, originating in Europe.
References: Plants of Western New South Wales, p. 210 - 211.
Compiled by: Graham Charles
