common nettle
Scientific name: Urtica dioica
Family: Urticaceae
Other common names; stinging nettle
Flowering time: May to September
Height: to 1m
Growing conditions: damp, fertile and disturbed ground
Nectar source for: many bees, wasps and butterflies
Food source for: caterpillars of the small tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies, seed eating birds, lady birds feast on the aphids that shelter among them
Description
The stinging nettle has been used for food, herbal remedies, dyes and fibres for hundreds of years. During the Second World War, children were encouraged to collect them so that they could be used to produce a dark green dye for camouflage.
How to identify: It has hairs on the stem, drooping catkin flowers, and oval, toothed leaves.
How to propagate:
Family: Urticaceae
Other common names; stinging nettle
Flowering time: May to September
Height: to 1m
Growing conditions: damp, fertile and disturbed ground
Nectar source for: many bees, wasps and butterflies
Food source for: caterpillars of the small tortoiseshell and peacock butterflies, seed eating birds, lady birds feast on the aphids that shelter among them
Description
The stinging nettle has been used for food, herbal remedies, dyes and fibres for hundreds of years. During the Second World War, children were encouraged to collect them so that they could be used to produce a dark green dye for camouflage.
How to identify: It has hairs on the stem, drooping catkin flowers, and oval, toothed leaves.
How to propagate: