Nettle

Parts Usually Used

Whole plant

Description of Plant(s) and Culture

A most potent herb, the many qualities compensating for the stung fingers that inevitably accompany the harvest. The sting is caused by the formic acid in the plant and can be soothed by rubbing the spot with dock leaves (Rumex obtusifolus). Providence, somehow, usually plants the dock alongside the nettle beds. Nettle is like a beast with a heart of gold. Nettle is a perennial 2-7 feet high: the root is creeping and branching, the plant is clothed in stinging hairs and bears opposite, cordate, deeply serrate, pointed leaves which are downy underneath; heart-shaped, finely toothed leaves and it has a clump of upright, four-angled, 1-2 foot stems are covered with downy hair and with venomous spines; emits an acrid fluid when touched, causing pain.

Each spine is a hollow needle filled with venom which is released whenever the plant is brushed. The venom stings like a bee and produces a red rash. The virulent qualities are destroyed by cooking (boiling or steaming) or drying the plant. The small, petal-less, greenish flowers grow in axillary clusters in “tassels”, male and female on separate plants; blooms from July to September.

Fruits are small nutlets enclosed in dried sepals. ; Urtica urens L. The plant U. urens, a dwarf variety, is used interchangeably with U. dioica.

Where Found

Found on waste land, vacant lots, pastures and in hedges, nettles can be found in plenty. Found all over the world.

Medicinal Properties

Astringent, hemostatic, diuretic, galactagogue (promotes flow of milk), lowers blood sugar levels, expectorant, tonic, nutritive, styptic, rubefacient

Biochemical Information

Formic acid, silicon, potassium, tannins, glucoquinones, histamine, acerylocholine, serotonin, chlorophyll, carbonic acid, mucilage, magnesium, iron, many minerals and vitamins A, B, and C.

Legends, Myths and Stories

Nine of the 30 species of Urtica are found in the United States and Canada growing wild. It is an old English custom to drink nettle tea on occasion. This habit was believed to have been brought with the Roman conquerors to the Isles, who used the tea as a bracer in the rigorous climate. Nettle is often an ingredient in herbal prescriptions. The addition of nettle leaves to Oriental tea in a proportion of 1 part nettle to 3 parts tea, makes a cup of tea well appreciated by the connoisseur.

It is said that the flavor is improved if the mixture is stored for some times before using. A novel use of the nettle plant was as a counter-irritant in rheumatic cases. The afflicted person was “whipped” on the rheumatic joint with whole plants. The idea was that the pain of nettle stings would make the sufferer forget the pain of the rheumatism. Caesar’s troops introduced the Roman nettle (U.

pilulifera) into Britain because they thought that they would need to flail themselves with nettles to keep warm. Nettle rash can be relieved by applying the juice of the leaves themselves, thus taking away the stinging of the nettles. It is said that if hens are given dry nettles in the winter, broken in small pieces, with their food, they will fatten and increase egg production all winter long.

When nettle is cut and allowed to wilt, used as fodder for livestock, it is said to increase the amount of milk produced. In Germany, dried nettle is mixed with feed for thin horses suffering digestive troubles. Horse dealers mixed the nettle seed with oats and other feeds to give the animals a sleek coat. In Egypt, oil from the nettle seeds is used in burning lamps. The Russians make a beautiful green dye for woolens from the nettle plant.

The root boiled with alum makes a yellow dye. The tall stalks yield a stronger and finer fiber than flax. The Germans used this in place of cotton in World War II. According to an old recipe book, steel dipped in the juice of the nettle becomes flexible.

Uses

Historical herbalists employed nettle for a wide variety of complaints, including rheumatism, poor circulation, neuralgia, sciatica, joint aches, and gout. Traditional practices utilized the plant for respiratory and seasonal issues, preparing it as an infusion, warm tea, or dietary vegetable for colds, asthma, hay fever, pleurisy, and sore throats. It was widely regarded as a spring tonic and was historically recommended for anemia, rickets, intestinal worms, dropsy, and digestive disturbances such as diarrhea and hemorrhoids.

Nursing mothers were traditionally given preparations of the plant to encourage lactation, while root decoctions were prepared with the intent of dissolving kidney stones. Herbal traditions also utilized seed tinctures for goiter and metabolic concerns, and the herb was frequently referenced in older texts as an aid for weight management. Externally, practitioners applied boiled leaves or pulped compresses to bleeding wounds, inflamed areas, bee stings, and eczema.

Preparations combining the boiled plant with vinegar and water, or using the expressed juice directly, were historically applied to the scalp as hair lotions intended to address dandruff, stimulate growth, and restore hair color.

Bibliography

The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 Culpeper’s Complete Herbal & English Physician: Updated With 117 Modern Herbs , by Nicholas Culpeper, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1990, (reprint of 1814) The Complete Medicinal Herbal , by Penelope Ody, Dorling Kindersley, Inc, 232 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, First American Edition, copyright 1993 The Herbalist Almanac , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, copyright 1988, fifth printing, 1994 Old Ways Rediscovered , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, published from 1954, print 1988 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R.

, West Nyack, NY, 1987. , Pantheon Books, Knopf Publishing Group, New York, 1994, first edition The Magic of Herbs , by David Conway, published by Jonathan Cape, Thirty Bedford Square, London, England. (Out of print) The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr. A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT. 06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes.

, Copyright 1988, published 1992 American Folk Medicine , by Clarence Meyer, Meyerbooks, publisher, PO Box 427, Glenwood, Illinois 60425, 1973 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary , 15th Edition, F. A. , 180 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014, first printed by the United States Government Printing Office, Washington, in 1928, this Dover edition 1974 An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992).

The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H. Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974