Urtica urens

Dwarf nettle, Dwarf Nettle

Family: Urticaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Dwarf nettle is a naturalized annual herb found in northern and central California regions including the Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada foothills, Central Valley, and southern California coastal areas in disturbed areas, stream banks, and shaded habitats at elevations below 1,000 meters. Flowering from January to June, this plant produces small green flowers in compact head-like or spike-like clusters measuring 5 to 25 millimeters long. Growing to 10 to 60 centimeters tall with simple or branched erect stems emerging from a slender taproot, it develops quickly in disturbed landscapes. Its leaves are elliptical to broadly elliptical, 18 to 40 millimeters long with coarse-serrated margins and a wedge-shaped base, creating a distinctive textured appearance. The fruit is small, deltate-shaped and measuring 1.5 to 2.5 millimeters long.

Habitat: Disturbed areas, stream banks, shaded areas in grassland, oak woodland, chaparral, coastal-sage scrub, riparian woodland

Bloom period: Jan-Jun

Elevation: < 1000 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO, n&amps SNF, Teh, GV, CW, SW, w DSon (Coachella Valley), reported from MP

California counties: Los Angeles, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Kern, Tulare, Riverside, Orange, San Mateo, San Diego, San Bernardino, Alameda, Santa Clara, Fresno, Monterey, San Francisco, Imperial, Santa Barbara, Colusa, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Sacramento, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Madera, Mendocino, Napa, Nevada, San Benito, Santa Cruz, Marin, Contra Costa, Sutter, Merced, Tehama, Placer, Humboldt, Sonoma, Modoc, Solano, Mariposa

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.