Urtica urens
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID643ffa338a101592002153 |
| Scientific name | Urtica urens |
| Authority | L. |
| First published in | Sp. Pl. : 984 (1753) |
Ethnobotanical Use Top
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Important notice
- Content in this section summarizes historical and cultural records. It is not medical advice.
- Do not use plants for self-treatment. Safety, efficacy, and appropriate use are not established here.
- Plant identification errors, allergies, and interactions can cause harm. Consult qualified professionals for health questions.
- Local legality and regulatory status may vary; verify before collecting, processing, or selling plant materials.
Among the Mapuche of southern Chile, fresh leaf infusions and decoctions of Urtica urens are taken to ease urinary discomfort and as a gentle diuretic for kidney complaints (Bennett et al., 2021). In the Andean highlands, a leaf tea is a household remedy for arthritic joint aches and rheumatism (Valieva, 2017). In Europe, folk practice records leaf poultices of Urtica urens as a topical astringent for bleeding cuts, sores, and to reduce swellings around joints, and householders in Britain have used a weak leaf tea as a tonic and spring “cleanser” (Foster & Coles, 2008).
A practical way to prepare a mild, cooling tea is to use 1–2 teaspoons of fresh chopped aerial parts (leaves and tender stems, remove lower, tough stalks) per cup of just-boiled water. Cover and steep 5–10 minutes, strain, and sip up to 1 cup twice a day. Add honey if desired. This quantity and time limit keep the tea from becoming strongly diuretic or irritating to the stomach. For a first-aid poultice, bruise a small handful of fresh leaves to release the juice, spread over the clean wound or swollen area, and hold in place with a clean cloth for 15–30 minutes. Only plant material from clean sites should be used, and patches are advisable on sensitive skin. Because Urtica urens is mildly diuretic and can irritate the stomach, pregnant or nursing people, those on diuretics or blood‑pressure medication, and individuals with kidney disease should avoid internal use unless advised by a clinician. Fresh leaves can sting if not gently bruised; the same constituents that cause temporary stinging—histamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine—are largely neutralized when the leaves are crushed or steeped.
The leaves of Urtica urens contain histamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin, giving the characteristic topical stinging sensation. Extracts also contain flavonol glycosides such as quercetin and kaempferol, phenolic acids, and minerals including potassium and magnesium (Foster & Coles, 2008; Huber & Stary, 1996). These constituents plausibly support the plant’s traditional astringent, anti‑inflammatory, and diuretic reputations.
In the Czech Republic and elsewhere, Urtica urens remains part of the medical materia medica and is still used by herbalists as an occasional diuretic tea and topical astringent; modern homeopathic and phytopharmaceutical products also carry it, and small scientific studies continue to evaluate its urinary and anti‑inflammatory activity (Valieva, 2017; Foster & Coles, 2008).
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
- Edible greens: young leaves and shoots of Urtica urens are collected and cooked as a leafy vegetable, used in the same manner as spinach (boiled, sautéed, or incorporated into soups and omelettes). The species is commonly foraged and sold in local markets in parts of Europe, particularly French-speaking regions where it is known as “petite ortie.”
- Edible seed oil: the seeds are occasionally pressed for an edible oil.
Industrial and craft applications:
- Bast fiber for textile/cordage: stems yield bast fibers traditionally used in rural Europe and Central/Eastern Europe for low-twist yarns, ropes, and coarse textiles. Production is limited and artisanal.
Food and beverages (non-medicinal):
- Fresh and cooked greens: the plant is used as a leafy vegetable and as a seasoning green in omelettes and soups; preparation involves wilting or boiling and is considered as a substitute for spinach in the kitchen.
- Seed oil: small amounts of seed oil are produced for food use; properties such as fatty-acid profile are not standardized in the species.
Colorants and tanning:
- No standardized commercial dye or tanning use is reported for U. urens in established references.
Wood and fiber:
- Stem bast fibers: technical attributes are not standardized for U. urens; documented use is confined to craft and coarse cordage, not industrial pulp or textiles.
Fragrance and cosmetics:
- No established fragrance or cosmetic use is documented for U. urens.
Properties relevant to use:
- Fiber length and tensile strength suitable for coarse cordage; specific mechanical values are not standardized for the species.
- Seed oil contains alpha-linolenic acid (ALA); iodine value and saponification values are not reported in reliable sources for U. urens.
Standards and regulation:
- No species-specific standards for U. urens (e.g., food, fiber, or oil quality codes) are documented.
Sustainability and sourcing:
- Production is predominantly wild-harvested; data on cultivation, yield, and environmental impacts are not established for U. urens.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Urtica atlantica | Blume | Mus. Bot. 2: 149 (1856) |
| Urtica cubensis | Klotzsch ex Herder | Index Seminum (LE, Petropolitanus) 1858: 38 (1859) |
| Urtica quadristipulata | Dulac | Fl. Hautes-Pyrénées : 150 (1867) |
| Urtica parvula | Blume | Mus. Bot. 2: 150 (1856) |
| Urtica ovalifolia | Stokes | Bot. Mat. Med. 4: 372 (1812) |
| Urtica trianae | Rusby | Bull. New York Bot. Gard. 4: 319 (1907) |
| Urtica minor | Garsault | Fig. Pl. Med. 4: t. 637 b. 1764, nom. inval., opus utique oppressum; Descr. Pl. Anim. 369. 1767; Thell. in Bull. Herb. Boiss. Ser. II. viii. 908. |
| Urtica monoica | Gilib. | Esercit. ii. 450. |
| Urtica minor | Lam. | |
| Urtica urens var. lanceolata | E.Nilsson |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | annual nettle |
| English | dwarf nettle |
| English | small nettle |
| Spanish | picasarna |
| Spanish | urtica ovalifolia |
| Spanish | urtica quadristipulata |
| Spanish | urtica parvula |
| Spanish | urtica minor |
| Spanish | yerba del ciego |
| Spanish | ronchona |
| Spanish | picamoscas |
| Spanish | pica manos |
| Spanish | ortiga moheña |
| Spanish | ortiga menor |
| Spanish | forniquilla |
| Spanish | ortiga |
| Arabic | قراص حارق |
| Bulgarian | гръцка коприва |
| Catalan | ortiga petita |
| Czech | kopřiva žahavka |
| cv | Сухăр вĕлтĕрен |
| Welsh | danhadlen fach |
| Welsh | dynaint |
| Welsh | danadl |
| Danish | liden nælde |
| German | kleine brennessel |
| German | kleine brennnessel |
| German | eiternessel |
| Estonian | raudnõges |
| Basque | asunbeltz |
| Persian | گزنهسگ |
| Finnish | rautanokkonen |
| French | ortie brûlante |
| French | petite ortie, ortie brûlante |
| French | petite ortie |
| frr | letj braannäädel |
| Galician | estruga menor |
| Hebrew | סרפד צורב |
| Upper Sorbian | Žahalca |
| Upper Sorbian | mała kopřiwa |
| Hungarian | apró csalán |
| Armenian | եղինջ այրող |
| Armenian | Եղինջ այրող |
| Icelandic | smánetla |
| Italian | ortica annua |
| Japanese | ヒメイラクサ |
| Kabyle | taẓegduft |
| Kazakh | Күйдіргіш қалақай |
| Cornish | linas |
| Lithuanian | gailioji dilgėlė |
| Latvian | sīkā nātre |
| mrj | Калянуж |
| Norwegian Bokmål | smånesle |
| Dutch | kleine brandnetel |
| Norwegian Nynorsk | smånesle |
| Polish | pokrzywa żegawka |
| Portuguese | urtiga-menor |
| Quechua | qoe kisa |
| Quechua | mula kisa |
| Quechua | mula quisa |
| Quechua | quwi kisa |
| Quechua | urqu ithana |
| Russian | Крапива жгучая |
| Samogitian | joudnuotrīnė |
| Slovak | pŕhľava malá |
| Slovenian | mala kopriva |
| Swedish | etternässla |
| Swedish | eddersnälla |
| Swedish | tordönsnässla |
| Turkish | küçük ısırgan |
| Ukrainian | Кропива жалка |
| Chinese | 歐蕁麻 |
| Chinese | 欧荨麻 |
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!
No germination or propagation data was added yet.
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
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- Native
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Africa click to expand
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East Tropical Africa
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Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000416948 |
| UNII | IHN2NQ5OF9 |
| Florida Plant Atlas | 3845 |
| Flora of Alabama | 3656 |
| Canadensys | 9440 |
| USDA Plants | URUR |
| Tropicos | 33400380 |
| INPN | 128298 |
| Flora of Italy | 300 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:857987-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-2449000 |
| PFAF | Urtica urens |
| Open Tree Of Life | 838850 |
| Observations.org | 7597 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 473050 |
| NBN Atlas | NBNSYS0000003806 |
| Nature Serve | 2.155960 |
| IPNI | 857987-1 |
| iNaturalist | 53315 |
| GBIF | 5361815 |
| Freebase | /m/02rss3d |
| EPPO | URTUR |
| EOL | 596217 |
| Elurikkus | 8096 |
| Calflora (Californian flora) | 8188 |
| US Library of Congress | sh85141471 |
| USDA GRIN | 101585 |
| Wikipedia | Urtica_urens |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
Below is displayed the reference genome only!
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
| Accession | Assembly | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Level | Submitter | Released | Coverage | Size | |
| GCA_958296335.1 | drUrtUren1.1 | Chromosome | WELLCOME SANGER INSTITUTE | 2023-07-06 | 41 | 323.91 Mb |
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
| Title | Authors | Publication | Released | IDs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The genome sequence of the small nettle, Urtica urens L. (Urticaceae). | Christenhusz MJM, Twyford AD | Wellcome Open Res | 01-Nov-2024 |
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| Ethnobotanical survey on herbal remedies for the management of type 2 diabetes in the Casablanca-Settat region, Morocco | Arraji M, Al Wachami N, Boumendil K, Chebabe M, Mochhoury L, Laamiri FZ, Barkaoui M, Chahboune M | BMC Complement Med Ther | 15-Apr-2024 |
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| Nonchemical Aquatic Weed Control Methods: Exploring the Efficacy of UV-C Radiation as a Novel Weed Control Tool | Udugamasuriyage D, Kahandawa G, Tennakoon KU | Plants (Basel) | 09-Apr-2024 |
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| New Light on Plants and Their Chemical Compounds Used in Polish Folk Medicine to Treat Urinary Diseases | Olas B, Różański W, Urbańska K, Sławińska N, Bryś M | Pharmaceuticals (Basel) | 28-Mar-2024 |
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| Long-Term Monitoring of the Traditional Knowledge of Plant Species Used for Culinary Purposes in the Valencia Region, South-Eastern Spain | Belda A, Jordán-Nuñez J, Micó-Vicent B, López-Rodríguez D | Plants (Basel) | 08-Mar-2024 |
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| Commodity risk assessment of Ligustrum ovalifolium and Ligustrum vulgare plants from the UK | Bragard C, Baptista P, Chatzivassiliou E, Di Serio F, Jaques Miret JA, Justesen AF, MacLeod A, Magnusson CS, Milonas P, Navas‐Cortes JA, Parnell S, Potting R, Reignault PL, Stefani E, Thulke H, Van der Werf W, Civera AV, Yuen J, Zappalà L, Battisti A, Mas H, Rigling D, Faccoli M, Mikulová A, Mosbach‐Schulz O, Stergulc F, Streissl F, Gonthier P | EFSA J | 07-Mar-2024 |
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| Ecological and Syntaxonomic Analysis of the Communities of Glebionis coronaria and G. discolor (Malvion neglectae) in the European Mediterranean Area | Cano E, Cano-Ortiz A, Quinto Canas R, Piñar Fuentes JC, Rodrigues Meireles C, Raposo M, Pinto Gomes C, Laface VL, Spampinato G, Musarella CM | Plants (Basel) | 20-Feb-2024 |
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| The Meaning of Plants' Names: A New Discovering Approach to Its Medicinal and/or Toxic Properties | dos Santos Dantas Lima L, Felipe Domingues Passero L, Indriunas A, de Souza Santos I, Francisco Uchôa Coqueiro L, Alexandre Souza da Cruz K, Batista de Almeida A, Carlos Fernandes Galduróz J, Rodrigues E | Evid Based Complement Alternat Med | 19-Feb-2024 |
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| In silico and in vitro evaluation of the anti-virulence potential of patuletin, a natural methoxy flavone, against Pseudomonas aeruginosa | Metwaly A, Saleh MM, Alsfouk A, Ibrahim IM, Abd-Elraouf M, Elkaeed E, Elkady H, Eissa I | PeerJ | 01-Feb-2024 |
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| Old and New Aphid-Borne Viruses in Coriander in Chile: An Epidemiological Approach | Zamorano A, Carevic P, Gamboa C, Cui W, Curkovic T, Córdova P, Higuera G, Ramos-Castillo L, Quiroga N, Fiore N | Viruses | 31-Jan-2024 |
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| A checklist of European butterfly larval foodplants | Clarke HE | Ecol Evol | 07-Jan-2024 |
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| Antiarthritic and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of Cannabis sativa Essential Oil in an Animal Model | Kabdy H, Azraida H, Agouram F, Oufquir S, Laadraoui J, Baslam A, Aitbaba A, Ouazzani ME, Elyazouli L, Aboufatima R, Garzoli S, Chait A | Pharmaceuticals (Basel) | 22-Dec-2023 |
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| Update of the Xylella spp. host plant database – systematic literature search up to 30 June 2023 | Gibin D, Gutierrez Linares A, Fasanelli E, Pasinato L, Delbianco A | EFSA J | 15-Dec-2023 |
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| How to Increase the Nutritional Quality of Stinging Nettle Through Controlled Plant Nutrition§ | Dujmović M, Opačić N, Radman S, Fabek Uher S, Čoga L, Petek M, Voća S, Šic Žlabur J | Food Technol Biotechnol | 01-Dec-2023 |
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| Extra terrestrials: drought creates niche space for rare invertebrates in a large-scale and long-term field experiment | Aspin TW, Khamis K, Matthews TJ, Williams GM, Windsor FM, Woodward G, Ledger ME | Biol Lett | 08-Nov-2023 |
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Phytochemical Profile Top
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Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
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You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
| Name | PubChem ID | Canonical SMILES | MW | Found in | Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| > Organic nitrogen compounds / Organonitrogen compounds / Amines / Primary amines / 2-arylethylamines | |||||
| Histamine | 774 | Click to see | 111.15 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1159/000235087 |
| > Organic oxygen compounds / Organooxygen compounds / Alcohols and polyols / Cyclitols and derivatives / Quinic acids and derivatives | |||||
| Chlorogenic Acid | 1794427 | Click to see C1C(C(C(CC1(C(=O)O)O)OC(=O)C=CC2=CC(=C(C=C2)O)O)O)O | 354.31 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2006-960190 |
Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |