Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate woodland
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Spines
Status: Common

About

Slender Stinging Nettle is a perennial plant that is native to much of North America and South America. It is easily confused with the visually very similar Eurasian species Urtica dioica, but genetic analysis and experiments show that they are genetically distinct.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Urticaceae
Genus: Urtica
Species: Urtica gracilis