All Rights Reserved. Today this complex family has about 500 species, many of which are found in the tropics.
Some species are more sensational than others.
The pain can last for days and can even mimic symptoms of lockjaw. The Java species U. urentissima is said to carry discomfort well up to a year and may even cause death. Habitat Common nettle, Urtica dioica, has been dispersed throughout the world from Europe to Asia, Japan, South Africa and Australia. It is an old plant leaving its imprint in fossil evidence. It likes to grow in groups, can be very abundant, and prefers to sit itself down in disturbed areas such as roadsides, man-made hills and avalanche tracks, but it is also found in open woods and meadows.