Urtica dioica/urens
Nettle is a marvellous, living paradox: touch her and she will sting you, consume her and she will take the sting away.
Species: Urtica dioica & Urtica urens
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Rosales
Family: Urticaceae
Genus: Urtica
Stinging nettle sits firmly among my favourite herbs. A few years ago she started popping up in my garden, unannounced. As someone who occasionally gets itchy skin and eczema, I have often turned to nettle tea for relief. It is ubiquitous, easy to dry at home, and beneficial as tea.
Nettle is a marvellous, living paradox: touch her and she will sting you, consume her and she will take the sting away.
The smaller variety, Urtica urens, is an annual - like the one gracing my garden - also referred to as the dwarf nettle. Its sister, Urtica dioica, is the perennial, dioecious variety (indicating that male and female flowers exist on different plants) that grows up to 2 metres tall (a.k.a. the giant nettle). Both of these beauties have the same effects within the context of herbal medicine.
So famed is nettle, that it has found its way into the vernacular of European languages. In English, one can speak of feeling "nettled" (annoyed or irritated). A German idiom "sich in die Nettlen setzen" refers to getting in trouble, and a Dutch variation speaks of a "netelige situatie" when one is in a predicament.
As is the case with dandelion leaves, nettle - which is high in fatty acids and iron - is widely used for culinary purposes (once cooked, it loses its sting) and may be used to substitute spinach, or used to make nettle pesto. In the Middle Ages, nettle beer was brewed to aid rheumatism.
"The English herbalist, physician, and botanist Nicholas Culpeper (...) recommended nettle to break up stones, stop bleeding, increase urination, and for difficulty breathing, pleurisies, cough, and inflammation of the lungs. Culpeper also said that nettles provoke lust and help people hold their necks upright." (source)
In modern herbalism, nettle is commonly used as a diuretic, for urinary and kidney health, and rheumatic ailments, as well as seasonal allergies, allergic rhinitis, hay fever, eczema, and gout.
In the words of William Shakespeare:
"Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety."
References:
https://www.stlukes-stl.com/health-content/medicine/33/000275.htm
https://altmedrev.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/v12-3-280.pdf
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325244#what-is-stinging-nettle
Caution & Disclaimer:
Consult your doctor/physician before taking an herbal supplement, especially if you are on prescription medication or suffer from any chronic conditions, or if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Some herbs may cause allergic reactions - it is prudent to test a small amount and waiting 24 hours to establish an allergic response.
When wild harvesting, ensure that plants have not been sprayed or exposed to excess pollution.
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