Attention: Here are two plants that look confusingly similar. At first glance, laypeople often cannot tell them apart. The stinging nettle and the deadnettle are not even related to each other…

The dead nettle looks very similar to the stinging nettle

A close look at the leaves of the two

Nettle leaves and dead-nettle leaves have the following things in common:

  • dark green color
  • deciduous
  • Budding in March/April
  • smooth structure
  • oblong-ovate
  • long pointed at the end
  • heart-shaped at the base
  • stalked
  • hairy
  • sharply serrated at the edge

But there are also differences. So the dead nettle leaves have no stinging hairs in contrast to the stinging nettle leaves. They also smell completely different when crushed. On top of that, the venation of the dead-nettle leaves looks more like a honeycomb.

Big difference: the flowers

Stinging nettles are often confused with dead nettles and vice versa, especially when they are not in bloom. Once flowering begins, there is no longer any doubt because: there is a stark difference between the flowers of these two plants.

The flowers of the nettle are extremely inconspicuous. They appear in July, stand together in panicles, are yellow-brown in color and tiny. The flowers of the dead nettle, on the other hand, are larger and more showy. They are white or, in the case of the purple deadnettle, violet in colour.

In detail, the characteristics of the flowers of dead nettle:

  • Present from April to October
  • standing in the leaf axils
  • mock whisking
  • 6 to 16 individual flowers per inflorescence
  • Corolla 2 to 2.5 cm long
  • hermaphrodite
  • Spots in the inflorescence

Similar growth

The growth of these two wild herbs is also very similar. Both grow erect and are slender in stature. A long stalk forms the base to which the stalked leaves attach. The stems of both plants are angular in cross-section.

The height of growth is also similar. Dead nettles grow to between 10 and 70 cm. Only the stinging nettle can reach a height of 3 m. The small nettle is satisfied with 50 cm.

Similar location requirements

Last but not least, stinging nettles and deadnettles have similar site requirements. Both like to grow in meadows, along roadsides and in riparian areas. They both also love nitrogen-rich soils. They are often right next to each other.

tips

The golden nettle and the nettle-leaved bellflower also look quite similar to the stinging nettle because of their leaf shape.

Category:

Herbs