Dwarf Nettle (Urtica urens): Weed management guide for Australian vegetable production

Abstract

Dwarf nettle (Urtica urens) is an annual herbaceous plant, native to Mediterranean Europe, that grows between 10 and 75 cm in height. Figure 1 Life stages, from germination to floweringLeaves are up to 6 cm in length but often 1-3 cm, oval to elliptical in shape, deeply toothed or serrated on the edges, green to dark green, and covered with scattered stinging hairs. Clusters of small, greenish-white flowers form where the leaves join the stems.Dwarf nettle is also known in Australia as small nettle, lesser nettle, or stinging nettle. Vegetable farmers are likely to be very familiar with it where it is found on their farm, and to be well aware of how to identify it. However depending on its stage of growth, it may be possible to mis-identify it as tall nettle (Urtica dioica), native scrub nettle (Urtica incisa) or potentially deadnettle (Lamium amplexicaule), particularly where the plants are recently germinated.