Urtica urens, SE: Etternässla, DE: Kleine Brennnessel, Eiternessel,
NL: Kleine brandnetel,UK: Small nettle, Dwarf stinger, Dog nettle

Scientific name:  Urtica urens L.
Swedish name:  Etternässla
German name:  Kleine Brennnessel, Eiternessel
Nederlandse naam:  Kleine brandnetel
English name:  Small nettle, Dwarf stinger, Dog nettle
Family:  Urticaceae, Nettle family, Nässelväxter

Bloemen in Zweden, Natuur, Reizen

Life form:  Therophyte, annual
Stems:  Height 10–50 cm, branching stem, 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, elliptic to broadly elliptic, dentate or serrate
Flowers:  Green, unisexual, staminate and pistillate in same inflorescence
Flowering Period:  June, July
Fruits:  Oval to pear-shaped, flat, yellowish-brown achene
Habitat:  Throughout the country; in Northern Sweden rare

Urtica urens, SE: Etternässla, DE: Kleine Brennnessel, Eiternessel, NL: Kleine brandnetel,UK: Small nettle, Dwarf stinger, Dog nettle


Derivation of the botanical name:
Urtica, uro, I burn, alluding to the nettle's sting; stinging nettle. Their capability to sting makes them useful for metaphors.
In the Bible three different Hebrew names are quoted: Sirpad (סרפד)- in Isaiah 55:13; Seravim (סרבים)- in Ezekiel 2:6; Harul (הרול)-Zephaniah 2:9. They are synonyms, the roots s-r-f and h-a-r both meaning 'scorching' or 'burning'.
urens, Latin urere, to burn, and refers to the stonging hairs.
  • The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
  • The Romans used the Urtica for "urtication", beating with nettles to encourage blood to the surface, which they did to keep themselves warm and to relieve the pain of arthritis.
  • Dioscorides (ca. 40-ca. 90), the ancient Greek physician, advocated this nettle and its relative, Urtica dioica, as a treatment for festering wounds, nosebleeds, and delayed menstruation.

    In the following old children's rhyme, "Hitty Pitty" means Nettles.
    Hitty Pitty within the wall,
    Hitty Pitty without the wall;
    If you touch Hitty Pitty,
    Hitty Pitty will bite you.