Grosse Brennessel vs Kleine Brennnessel

Urtica dioica compared with Urtica urens

Key Differences

• Grosse Brennessel is Least Concern while Kleine Brennnessel is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Grosse Brennessel	Kleine Brennnessel
Kingdom same	Plantae (Pflanzen)	Plantae (Pflanzen)
Phylum same	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class same	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order same	Rosales (Rosenartige)	Rosales (Rosenartige)
Family same	Urticaceae	Urticaceae
Genus same	Urtica	Urtica
Species	Urtica dioica	Urtica urens

Evolutionary Relationship

Grosse Brennessel and Kleine Brennnessel share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Urtica.

Conservation Status

Grosse Brennessel

LC — Least Concern

Kleine Brennnessel

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Grosse Brennessel	Kleine Brennnessel
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Grosse Brennessel

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).

Kleine Brennnessel

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 12 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Eswatini, Namibia, South Africa), Asia (Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar), Europe (19 countries), North America (Canada, Cuba, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (7 countries). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Grosse Brennessel

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 15 countries:

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