Urtica holosericea Nuttall, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 4: 25. 1848; U. breweri S. Watson; U. dioica var. holosericea (Nuttall) C. L. Hitchcock; U. dioica var. occidentalis S. Watson; U. gracilis Aiton var. greenei (Jepson) Jepson; U. gracilis subsp. holosericea (Nuttall) W. A. Weber; U. gracilis var. holosericea (Nuttall) Jepson

Stems softly pubescent, also with stinging hairs. Leaf blades abaxially sparsely to densely tomentose to moderately strigose, soft to touch, with stinging hairs, adaxially without or rarely with a few stinging hairs. Flowers unisexual, staminate and pistillate mostly on same plants. 2 n = 26.

Flowering late spring-summer. Alluvial woods, margins of deciduous or mixed woodlands, fencerows, waste places; 0-3100 m; Ariz., Calif., Colo., Idaho, Mont., Nev., N.Mex., Oreg., Utah, Wash., Wyo.; Mexico.

Urtica dioica subsp. holosericea is highly variable in leaf shape and degree of pubescence. The least pubescent plants appear to grade into U . dioica subsp. gracilis , and it is sometimes difficult to separate the two.

The name U . serra Blume has been misapplied to this taxon.