Urtica gracilis Ait. ssp. gracilis

Locations ofUrtica gracilis Ait. ssp. gracilis in Virginia

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Detail

Family
Urticaceae
Botanical Name
Urtica gracilis Ait. ssp. gracilis
Common Name
American Stinging Nettle
Synonym(s)
Urtica dioica ssp. gracilis (Aiton) Selander; Urtica dioica Linnaeus var. procera (Muhl. ex Willd.) Weddell; Urtica procera Muhl.
Flora of Virginia Name/Status
Urtica gracilis Ait.
Comments
Map incomplete at this time, as Urtica dioica and U. gracilis ssp. gracilis were lumped in previous editions of the Atlas, and many herbarium specimens have not been checked. See composite map of Urtica dioica + Urtica gracilis ssp. gracilis for all county records of stinging nettles in Virginia.

Henning et al. (2014, Phytotaxa 162: 61-83) delineate five subspecies of U. gracilis in North, Central, and South America. Ours is the nominate ssp.
Habitat
Floodplain forests, and more rarely disturbed, mesic, upland forests. Infrequent in the mountains and Piedmont; most frequent along the James River and its tributaries in the Piedmont. Where it co-occurs with Urtica dioica (as, e.g., along the Potomac River and Shenandoah Rivers in northern VA), it is generally outcompeted by the larger and more aggressive introduced species.
Native Status
Native

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