February 13, 2018

Stinging Nettle


Stinging Nettles (Urtica dioica) are robust plants. They went on growing all winter notwithstanding rain, snow and frost and now they look a bit crumpled, but no more than that.





The Stinging Nettle likes nitrogen, so you can find him in many places where humans altered the soil and also in places where there is a natural supply of this stuff. Wastelands, vacant plots, abandoned compost and manure, gardens, riversides...






They sting but nevertheless they are beautiful with this frosty edge.






Stinging Nettles are dioecious, that means that male and female flowers do not grow on the same plant. Here is one with female flowers already in fruit. Seeds can rest for a very long time in the soil and await the right moment to germinate, which helps to explain the resilience of Stinging Nettles.





A butterfly, The Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae), deposits its eggs on them. Many small caterpillars feed on leaves and flowers.





Who is looking? Maybe he looks menacing but he is a strict vegetarian...