Common Nettle (Urticaria Dioica)

Date added: 01/07/2020 14:25:29
Author: Joan Stacey

Most people will be familiar with this plant but perhaps only because they have been painfully stung by it! But there is so much more to it and not all of it bad.

It is a hardy perennial plant which grows up to as much as 2 metres tall and from May to September bears brownish green tassel- like flowers. The leaves and stem are covered with hollow stinging hairs which inject chemicals such as histamine when in contact with skin causing the familiar redness, pain and itching. Gardeners will know it as a most unwelcome weed which is hard to eradicate so many will use powerful chemicals which harm the environment.

It has on the plus side a long history of many uses . Medicinally, it acts as a diuretic and can flush away toxins from the blood so can help to treat raised blood pressure and acne. It can also aid bone health and normal blood clotting due to its vitamin K content.

And it contains many other valuable vitamins and minerals. Arthritis sufferers may use it to get some relief for inflammation and pain.
NB. Please note it can be unwise for amateurs to use herbs for self- help so it is best to consult an expert.

A valuable culinary ingredient, it can be infused to make a tea, used in soup and can be eaten when young cooked like spinach. (Gloves advisable when picking! ) and you might also try a delicious nettle pesto with pasta. The amazing Cornish Yarg cheese gets its unique flavour from being wrapped in nettle leaves while it matures. The ripe seeds are quite oily with a nutty taste and I have enjoyed them added to muesli.

When it is dried as in hay, it provides very nutritious fodder for many farm animals including chickens. Hardy sheep and goats may sometimes graze on it.
In the Bronze Age it was already being used to make fabric and its strong fibres mean it can be used to make rope, fishing nets and sailcloth. The leaves yield a soft green dye for fabrics.

Three of our most beautiful butterflies, the tortoiseshell, red admiral and peacock feed on nettles which also provide shelter for aphids and other small insects.
So really, stinging nettles don’t deserve to be shunned and despised but rather valued for all their benefits.

© FNRC