Identifying and managing Common nettle

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Scientific name: Urtica dioica

Perennial plant (herb) in the Nettle family (Urticaceae)

What is Common nettle?

• Long lived (perennial), polycarpic (flowers many times) competitive dominant.
• Some above ground growth may persist through winter.
• Rapid growth from a shallow below ground rhizome (root) in spring and a dense, compact canopy restricts native plant species access to light – may dominate open sites if left unmanaged.
• Very variable in terms of growth characteristics and identification features.
• Several other species and sub-species of native and non-native nettles found in the UK and Ireland.

How does Common nettle grow and spread?

• Reaches up to 1.5m tall in full growth (can grow more than 2m tall).
• Spreads by direct rhizome (root) expansion (up to 0.5m per year) and vegetative (asexual, clonal) dispersal via fragments of plant material created by human activities (e.g. agricultural practices) and natural disturbance processes (e.g. animals). Also spreads sexually by seed that may be ingested and transported by grazing mammals; persistent seedbank formed.
• UK distribution still increasing.

Where does Common nettle grow?

Common habitats where Common nettle is found include:

• Rivers and other watercourses (riparian habitats)
• Roadsides
• Railway embankments and cuttings
• Waste ground
• Agricultural areas (arable)
• Cliffs, sand dunes and limestone pavement

Timing of Common nettle growth stages and treatment application