Urtica urens
Urtica urens, commonly known as annual nettle, dwarf nettle, small nettle, dog nettle, burning nettle, or bush nettle is a herbaceous annual flowering plant species in the nettle family Urticaceae. It is native to Eurasia, including the Himalayan regions of Kalimpong, Darjeeling and Sikkim in India and can be found in North America, New Zealand and South Africa as an introduced species. It is reputed to sting more strongly than Urtica dioica.
Description
Urtica urens is an annual plant, monoecious and generally much shorter. It can be distinguished from the perennial and dioecious U. dioica by its more rounded leaves with coarser, deeper toothing and with the terminal tooth of similar length to the adjacent teeth. The lower leaves are shorter than their longer petioles and have stinging hairs only.Distribution
The native distribution of Urtica urens includes most of Europe except the British Isles, northern Asia, north and northwest Africa.In the British Isles, Urtica urens is an archaeophyte, an ancient introduction. It has been introduced to all other continents of the world except Antarctica.