Nettle

 Botanical Name: Urtica dioica

Family: Urticaceae 

Other Name: Devil's apron, naughty man's plaything, scaddie, sting-leaf

Habitat: Waste ground, wet woods, hedges, and rivers

Description: Course upright perennial covered with fine stinging hair growing from a creeping rootstock Up to 120cm/4ft.Stems: quadrangular Leaves toothed, heart shaped, serrated, ovate below lance shaped above, bearing stinging cells Flowers thin catkins of undistinguished green flowers, yellow stamens male and female on different plants  June – September

Native to: Worldwide

Part Used: The top part of the whole herb, root

Harvesting: Young leaves February – July

Preserving: Drying or cooking eliminates the sting.

Actions: Appetizer, anti-coagulant, antihistamine, anti asthmatic, astringent, diuretic, galactagogue

Constituents: Formic acid, glucoquinine, iron

Roots: Lignans: pinoresinol, secoisolariciresinol, dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol, neo olivil

Lectins: (mixture known as UDA=Urtica Dioica Agglutinin)

Flavonoids: isorhamnetin, kaempferol glycoside, quercetin glycoside.

Glycoprotein

Indoles: histamine, serotonin, betaine, acetylcholine, vitamin C, ionyl glucoside, caffeic acid derivatives, chlorophyll, protein, dietary fibre

Nutrition: Vitamin A, C iron, protein

Combines with: Burdock, celery seed, and figwort

Culinary Uses: Soup, nettle bear, nettle pudding

Skin: Rashes

Circulatory muscle joint: Gout, rheumatism, and high blood pressure

Other Notes: The word nettles comes from an old word meaning “to twist” as it was once used to make fibre or from a Saxon word “noedl” meaning needle

There is an old rhyme Sup nettles in March and mugwort in may, and many fair ladies won’t go on the clay

  Urtica comes from the Latin verb urere, meaning, "to burn," because of its urticate (stinging) hairs.

Dioica means "two houses" because the plant usually has either male or female flowers

  During World War II, nettles were used as camouflage paint. 

 Medieval monks flagellated themselves with nettles as penance. 

Roman soldiers flagellated themselves to warm themselves.

Nettle Small