Interesting Article on Nettles

Linda Bittle · May 2022

Check out the photo of the stingers. Beautiful in its way.

Why you should embrace stinging nettles - BBC Future

vickeym · May 2022

That is indeed an interesting article. Made me go look for others. Especially looking for something regarding the line in this article about...

"need to be prepared properly to avoid allergic reactions"

Haven't found much that specifies that yet. But this article sounded pretty good as well.

https://foragerchef.com/nettles/

LaurieLovesLearning · May 2022

@vickeym Forager Chef is very interesting.

I found that it's use by the Romans using it for meat tenderisation was interesting. I wonder how that was done?

vickeym · May 2022

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/913493#Comment_913493

I was thinking that too. I'm thinking some type of marinade maybe. Using a infusion such as the tea to make the marinade with. But still looking for more information.

Linda Bittle · May 2022

Found this, too.

https://herballegacy.com/Vance_History.html

And this.

https://herbariumsingularis.wordpress.com/2020/02/17/nettles-exploring-the-myth-magic-and-uses/

LaurieLovesLearning · May 2022

@Linda Bittle Those were interesting.

The second says the Nettle was used to tenderize meat while boiling. I guess that answers that question.

Something helpful also in that article is "the stems and leaves soaked in water and the water used as an organic pesticide, being applied to plants with mites or aphids." That could come in very handy! I recently bought an ivy that had aphids on it. I think I've been able to rinse off & squish them all (it was a small plant with few aphids). But I should most likely make some up should they reappear.

Mites & aphids seem to be some of the most common houseplant pests.

Torey · May 2022

Stinging Nettle truly is a multi-purpose plant. Good for us and the environment.

One use I hadn't heard of is as a meat tenderizer. I will have to try that.

The Forager Chef mentions that Urtica dioica was thought to be non-native in North America but now are considered to be native. First Nations in BC, particularly along the coast, have been using nettle fibre to make fishing nets and other cordage since long before first contact. So it is definitely a native species, although, there is a sub taxon difference. Urtica dioica ssp. dioica is the European species. Urtica dioica ssp. gracilis is the North American species and is widespread in my area.

We have another introduced species in BC, Urtica urens, or Lesser Nettle or Dog Nettle. It is a smaller plant with slightly more rounded leaves. Not hardy in my area.

For medicinal uses (and as pointed out in the reference articles, it has so many), it is different parts of the plant for different conditions. Nettle leaves are diuretic so are used for fluid retention, bladder infections, stones, gout, etc. Nettle seeds are an adrenal tonic. Nettle root is used for BPH.

I will attest to dock getting rid of the sting. I used that all the time when I was a kid and had inadvertently encountered nettle. So not a placebo.

Laportea canadensis is a new one for me. But it doesn't grow in BC. The one pic given looks almost like a raspberry plant.

I haven't found any nettle yet this year. Cows took care of my regular patch. :(

I just discovered that a neighbour has had dead nettle take over his garden, so I will be going over to harvest and take care of his overabundance.

vickeym · May 2022

@torey Good to know about the different varieties. I think we had some form of stinging nettle when I was growing up in Florida. Didn't know the name and has been years since I have seen them but they sure stung if you brushed an ankle against it or stepped on one barefoot. Glad to hear the dock remedy works.

Not sure what BPH stands for.

I thought dead nettle was a different plant species all together. Are they similar in use?

Torey · May 2022

@vickeym BPH. Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy. Something that is becoming more common. I have been told by someone who saw a doc for his problem, that the doc said that 90% of all men over 70 will experience this to some degree. Hasn't been that way in my experience. But nettle root is one of the herbal treatments.

Dead Nettle is a different plant genus. It is Lamium species. L. album is White Dead Nettle. L. purpurea is Purple (or Red) Dead Nettle. L. galeobdolon is Yellow Dead Nettle. There are other species, too. Different uses than stinging nettle although both Lamium and Urtica are diuretic. It is: astringent, styptic, diaphoretic, diuretic, anti-inflammatory, alterative, antioxidant.

nicksamanda11 · May 2022

Laportea (wood nettle) is what grows around me. We love it's flavor in nettle soup. We also enjoy a nutritive infusion of it.

MissPatricia · May 2022

Most interesting. I read the article that was mentioned near the top. So I will have to keep my eyes open for it in my garden where I discovered it last year. I plan to dehydrate it for tea and maybe saute it like spinach. I hope sauteing is a viable option.