Smallspike False Nettle

Boehmeria cylindrica

native · Hill Country

Smallspike False Nettle is a wildflower native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 4–5 ft tall and 2 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and medium water. Flowers are yellow. Good for butterflies.

Wet ground only. Usually found in wetlands and creek bottoms. It wants reliably moist ground and struggles in a dry upland bed.

Will it grow in your yard?

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The facts

5 sources

Type: Wildflower
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3–6 hrs of direct sun)
Water: Medium
Height: 4–5 ft
Spread: 2 ft
Bloom: Yellow
Foliage: Deciduous or dies back in winter
Soil: Recorded on limestone, loam, moist, rich, sand, well drained
Wildlife: Supports butterflies

Where it grows

Recorded in these EPA Level IV ecoregions in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones CanyonlandsLlano UpliftEdwards Plateau WoodlandNorthern Blackland PrairieSouthern Post Oak SavannaFloodplains and Low TerracesSan Antonio Prairie

284 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Also grows here — hard to find. Native and recorded growing in Central Texas, but not on the grower stock lists we read. Sourcing varies: some are stocked widely, others you will have to hunt for.

also grows from seed It starts readily from seed, so a packet from a native-seed supplier, or seed collected with permission, is often the easiest way to get a plant no nursery pots.