Urticaceae

…In Andersen's fairy tale "The Prince and the Eleven Swans," there is a scene in which a little princess spins thread from nettles. However, since the amount of thread that can be obtained is small compared to hemp or flax, and it takes a lot of work, spinning thread from nettles has become a folk tale. [Aramata Hiroshi]
[Urticaceae]
There are about 45 genera and over 1,000 species, including nettles with stinging hairs and nettles that produce fibers. They are distributed throughout the world in temperate and tropical zones, and are usually herbaceous plants in the temperate zones, but some grow into large trees in the tropics (Figure).

*Some of the terminology that mentions "Urticaceae" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…アンデルセンの童話《王子と11羽の白鳥》に小さな姫がイラクサから糸を紡ぐ場面が出てくるが，アサやアマに比べて取れる糸の量が少なく手間もかかったため，イラクサの糸紡ぎは昔語りとなった。【荒俣 宏】
【イラクサ科Urticaceae】
　刺毛をもつイラクサや繊維をとるチョマなどを含み，約45属1000種以上がある。世界中の温帯，熱帯域に分布し，温帯では通常草本であるが，熱帯には大木になるものもある(図)。…

※「Urticaceae」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報