Big-Sting Nettle vs Castor

Urtica dioica compared with Ricinus communis

Key Differences

• Big-Sting Nettle is Least Concern while Castor is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Big-Sting Nettle	Castor
Kingdom same	Plantae (Plants)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Rosales (Roses & Allies)	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)
Family	Urticaceae	Euphorbiaceae
Genus	Urtica	Ricinus
Species	Urtica dioica	Ricinus communis

Evolutionary Relationship

Big-Sting Nettle and Castor share a common ancestor at the Class level: Magnoliopsida. (Dicots)

Conservation Status

Big-Sting Nettle

LC — Least Concern

Castor

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Big-Sting Nettle	Castor
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Big-Sting Nettle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests, and temperate grasslands and steppes, among 4 distinct biome types within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Japan, Turkey), Europe (7 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (4 countries).

Castor

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (33 countries), Asia (26 countries), Europe (23 countries), North America (15 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (14 countries), and South America (12 countries).

Big-Sting Nettle

The Big-Sting Nettle (Urtica dioica) is a species in the genus Urtica. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests, and temperate grasslands and steppes, among 4 distinct biome types within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Castor

The Castor (Ricinus communis) is a species in the genus Ricinus. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and hi

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 16 countries:

🇦🇺 Australia 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇯🇵 Japan 🇳🇿 New Zealand 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇹🇷 Turkey 🇺🇸 United States