Stinging Nettle
Urtica dioica
One of the first things I look for in the spring, apart from the green grass, is stinging nettle. It grows in thick patches, 2 to 3 feet in height, around our farm and this is one weed I love to see around!
This wonderful herb has a long history of many uses some of which are food, fiber, and medicine. Much like spinach, stinging nettle has been eaten as steamed greens and in casserole style dishes.
In Les Miserables, Victor Hugo has cited the following virtues of nettle:
'One day he (Monsieur Madeleine) saw some peasants busy plucking out Nettles; he looked at the heap
of plants uprooted and already withered, and said, "They are dead. Yet it would be well if people knew how
to make use of them. When the nettle is young, its leaf forms an excellent vegetable; when it matures,
it has filaments and fibres like hemp and flax. Nettle fabric is as good as canvas.
Chopped, the nettle is good for poultry; pounded it is good for cattle.
The seed of the nettle mingled with fodder imparts a gloss to the coats of animals; its root mixed
with salt produces a beautiful yellow colour.
It is besides excellent hay and can be cut twice. And what does the nettle require?
Little earth, no attention, no cultivation. Only the seed falls as it ripens, and is difficult to gather.
That is all. With a little trouble, the nettle would be useful; it is neglected, and becomes harmful."
Hikers will remember the plants stinging hairs causing irritation and inflammation. This sting is dissipated by heat causing its ability to be eaten when it has been boiled. When the leaves and stem of stinging nettle are dried, the sting is also removed. Oddly, the juice of the nettle cures its own sting. Dock, which usually grows nearby, has also reportedly been an antidote. One old verse chimes:
'Nettle in, dock out.
Dock rub nettle out'
According to folk medicine nettle has been useful in treating many different ailments from bleeding from the nose, lungs and stomach to treating burns. Urtification, the practice of flailing the nettle plant against skin to treat rheumatism and muscle weakness is still used today.
Nettle was used for centuries to stimulate hair growth and to cause it to be glossy and soft. Nettle preparations are said to be helpful for the kidneys, preventing kidney stones. It is said to have properties that relieve bronchial and asthmatic troubles. It has been used to treat jaundice, inflammations of the kidneys, and painful menstruation.
Many modern clinical studies confirm the traditional uses of stinging nettle. According to German Commission E monographs, it is recognized throughout Europe internally as irrigation therapy for inflammatory diseases of the lower urinary tract and prevention and treatment of kidney gravel. It is indicated by the German Commission E for internal and external therapy of rheumatic ailments.
In France, uses are permitted to treat acne as well as symptomatic treatment of pain in the joints. Externally, the juice of the fresh herb is used as a gargle and as a poultice on wounds, ulcers, and hemorrhoids.
A nutritional profile in Nutritional Herbology by Mark Pedersen shows that stinging nettle is very nutrient rich with calcium, chromium, and magnesium, and zinc being the highest.
This is some of the reasons I enjoy having it in a tea along with other nutrient rich herbs.
Be sure to look for this wonderful plant this spring!
Take care to wear gloves and break off the top 4 or 5 inches of the plant,
dry for teas or steam as a potherb. Use in a Pregnancy Tea!
Known mostly for its first name, "stinging", it seems an irony that it offers such a treasure house of uses. Goes to show, you can't judge a book by its cover!
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