Urtica dioica - Brännässla - Große Brennnessel

Urtica dioica, SE: Brännässla, DE: Große Brennnessel,
NL: Grote brandnetel, UK: Stinging nettle, Common Nettle


Scientific name:		Urtica dioica L.
Swedish name:		Brännässla
German name:		Große Brennnessel
Nederlandse naam:		Grote brandnetel
English name:		Stinging nettle, Common Nettle
Family:		Urticaceae, Nettle Family, Nässelväxter

Vilda blommor i Sverige, Sweden Flora, Jamtland, Ragunda, Hammarstrand, Wildflowers

_{Date Picture Taken: July 17, 2008}


Life form:		Perennial
Stems:		Height 30–150 cm, erect, leafy stems, stinging hairs (knob-like tip of the hair comes of at contact, and the hollow needle penetrates the skin releasing a burning acid mixture)
Leaves:		Opposite, entire, serrate
Flowers:		Small and greenish flowers, growing in large, compound clusters from the axils of the upper leaves
Flowering Period:		July, August
Fruits:		Yellowish, oval, flat achene
Habitat:		Forest, thicket, bogs, marshes, pastureland, meadows, farmland, settlements

Urtica dioica, Brännässla, Große Brennnessel, Grote brandnetel, Common Nettle

_{Date Picture Taken: July 17, 2008}

Derivation of the botanical name:
Urtica from Latin uro, "I burn," alluding to the nettle's sting, the stinging nettle.
dioica, Greek for "two houses", di, between, away from; oicos, οικοϛ, house, dwelling, (lit. 2 houses referring to male and female parts on different plants).

The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.

_{Date Picture Taken: October 2, 2009}