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Urtica pilulifera

Roman Nettle

Family UrticaceaeGenus Urtica

Round bristly green fruit balls hanging on short stalks down a nettle stem, among sharply toothed leaves.
FruitZeynel CebeciCC BY-SA 4.0

About the plant

What it is and where it grows — not part of any germination protocol.

Habit
annualPlants of the World Online
Native range
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Baleares, Bulgaria, Corse and elsewhereGBIF Backbone Taxonomy

Toxicity is noted only where a source states it. No note here is not a finding of safety.

Sources: Plants of the World Online — Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; GBIF Backbone Taxonomy — Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

This source reports 5 treatments. All are shown.

Protocol 1

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1996

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around July 22, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on July 21, 2026.

  1. Dry storage

    Duration: 240 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  2. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: light

about 8 months from start to sowing. Then 18 days to germinate.

100% germination in 4–18 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1996 · 1st Supplement, Urtica p. 84Public domain
Show the original text
Urtica (Urticaceae). U. piculifera DS 8 m germ. 70L(100% in 4-18 d), 70D(82% in 2-4 w), 40(82% in 2-4 w), and 70 GA-3(none). Seeds DS 20 m germ. 70L(100% in 4-12 d) and 70D(88% in 4-8 d) indicating little change on this further DS, but seeds DS 3 y were dead.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement, 1st Supplement, Urtica p. 84. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 2

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1996

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around August 2, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on August 1, 2025.

  1. Dry storage

    Duration: 600 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  2. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: light

about 1.5 years from start to sowing. Then 12 days to germinate.

100% germination in 4–12 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1996 · 1st Supplement, Urtica p. 84Public domain
Show the original text
Urtica (Urticaceae). U. piculifera DS 8 m germ. 70L(100% in 4-18 d), 70D(82% in 2-4 w), 40(82% in 2-4 w), and 70 GA-3(none). Seeds DS 20 m germ. 70L(100% in 4-12 d) and 70D(88% in 4-8 d) indicating little change on this further DS, but seeds DS 3 y were dead.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement, 1st Supplement, Urtica p. 84. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 3

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1996

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around August 6, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on August 5, 2025.

  1. Dry storage

    Duration: 600 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  2. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: dark

about 1.5 years from start to sowing. Then 8 days to germinate.

88% germination in 4–8 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1996 · 1st Supplement, Urtica p. 84Public domain
Show the original text
Urtica (Urticaceae). U. piculifera DS 8 m germ. 70L(100% in 4-18 d), 70D(82% in 2-4 w), 40(82% in 2-4 w), and 70 GA-3(none). Seeds DS 20 m germ. 70L(100% in 4-12 d) and 70D(88% in 4-8 d) indicating little change on this further DS, but seeds DS 3 y were dead.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement, 1st Supplement, Urtica p. 84. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 4

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1996

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around July 12, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on July 11, 2026.

  1. Dry storage

    Duration: 240 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  2. Cold moist stratification

    Temperature: 40°F 4°C

about 8 months from start to step 2. Germination happens during step 2, in 28 days.

82% germination in 14–28 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1996 · 1st Supplement, Urtica p. 84Public domain
Show the original text
Urtica (Urticaceae). U. piculifera DS 8 m germ. 70L(100% in 4-18 d), 70D(82% in 2-4 w), 40(82% in 2-4 w), and 70 GA-3(none). Seeds DS 20 m germ. 70L(100% in 4-12 d) and 70D(88% in 4-8 d) indicating little change on this further DS, but seeds DS 3 y were dead.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement, 1st Supplement, Urtica p. 84. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

Protocol 5

DerivedN. C. Deno, 1996

Difficulty Low Rated by us, not by the source.

Start around July 12, 2027 for a May 3 last frost. Too late for spring 2027 — that needed starting on July 11, 2026.

  1. Dry storage

    Duration: 240 daysTemperature: 70°F 21°C

  2. Sow and cover

    Temperature: 70°F 21°C Light: dark

about 8 months from start to sowing. Then 28 days to germinate.

82% germination in 14–28 days.

Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement — N. C. Deno, 1996 · 1st Supplement, Urtica p. 84Public domain
Show the original text
Urtica (Urticaceae). U. piculifera DS 8 m germ. 70L(100% in 4-18 d), 70D(82% in 2-4 w), 40(82% in 2-4 w), and 70 GA-3(none). Seeds DS 20 m germ. 70L(100% in 4-12 d) and 70D(88% in 4-8 d) indicating little change on this further DS, but seeds DS 3 y were dead.
Seed Germination Theory and Practice, 1st Supplement, 1st Supplement, Urtica p. 84. Quoted exactly. Every value on this card comes from this record, except the difficulty rating, which is ours; the step names come from a fixed list.

How each step is done, in Deno’s words, and what Verified and Derived mean.

Germination trials

Readers’ own records of sowing this species, published after review. Share your trial · All trials

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