Nettle

Urtica dioica

The stinging nettle is one of our most familiar hedgerow plants, flourishing along field edges, woodland margins and on rich, disturbed ground. Recognised by its toothed leaves and infamous sting, it has also been an extraordinarily useful plant, gathered for food, fibre and dye, and valued by wildlife. Look beyond the sting, and there is rather more to the nettle than its reputation suggests.

Habitat & Identification

The stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is a perennial plant, native to Britain and familiar along hedgerows, woodland edges, field margins, riverbanks and other areas of fertile, nitrogen-rich ground.

It can grow well over a metre tall, with upright stems bearing opposite pairs of dark green, sharply toothed leaves. Both the stems and leaves carry the fine stinging hairs for which the plant is so well known. Small greenish flowers hang in clusters from the leaf axils during the warmer months.

Nettles spread readily by underground rhizomes and can form substantial patches, particularly where the soil has been disturbed or enriched. Their presence around old settlements, farm buildings and field edges often has a close connection to nutrient-rich ground.