Family. Additionally, stinging nettle has been used as a source of bast fibres for textiles and is sometimes used in cosmetics. Like most weeds Stinging Nettle (Urtica urens) can be a pain for gardeners. Unlike deadnettles (Lamium), stinging nettles (Urtica) have stinging hairs that make them quickly apparent to the gardener when weeding. Early spring is the best time to harvest — I try to pick more early in the season and store for later use. The young shoots are tasty and extremely healthy in soups, stews and pancakes. Upper drooping female flowers of common Stinging Nettle / Urtica dioica in sunshine. Where lies the difference between brew and manure? If you do get stung try rubbing the old favorite dock leaves on the inflamed area, it works but only really psycologically, much better and much more effective is to use the juice from Greater or Ribwort Plantain. The rootstock is used as a diuretic and as an herbal treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (prostate enlargement) and other urinary disorders. Cover the barrel with a lid because this liquid will have a strong smell! In some parts of the US, stinging nettle is considered an invasive weed due to its ability to self-seed and spread through its root mass. There are many variations of nettle tea recipes that feature a number of other herbs like raspberry leaf, echinacea or goldenseal. Registered charity number 207238. Its preference for damp, fertile and disturbed ground makes it a good coloniser of places enriched by human activities, such as agriculture and development. The dead nettles do not sting, both white dead nettles and red dead nettles are quite common flowers. After fermenting it for 5-6 weeks the nettle … The leaves have distinctly serrated edges, with each leaf margin looking like a row of pointed teeth. Stinging nettle, (Urtica dioica), also called common nettle, weedy perennial plant of the nettle family , known for its stinging leaves. Urticaceae. The dried plant can be used as livestock feed, and heating or cooking the fresh leaves renders them safe for consumption. The toothed leaves are borne oppositely along the stem, and both the stems and leaves are covered with numerous stinging and non-stinging trichomes (plant hairs). From the nutrition point of view, they pack a wallop as well. Although contact causes intense stinging and itching, symptoms usually last less than an hour; some people may have skin discoloration for several days. She has her M.S.... Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Stinging nettle flowers. https://www.britannica.com/plant/stinging-nettle, New York State - Department of Environmental Conservation - Stinging Nettle, WebMD - Stinging Nettle: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions, Dosage, and Warning. It also provides great perennial habitat for a wide range of … Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), Different types of protected wildlife sites. Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica, also known as common nettle or nettle leaf) is an herbaceous perennial plant. Pick only the tenderest, youngest leaves. Pistillate flower has four tepals in different-sized pairs, are greyish green and hairy. They tolerate a wide variety of soil conditions, though they seem to like moisture and soils rich in nitrate and phosphate. Pollinators and other beneficial insects – Stinging nettle flowers are wind-pollinated, not insect-pollinated. You can consume the leaves fresh, but if you want to preserve the nettle plants to be consumed or used later, there are a few things that you can try. Stinging nettle is distributed nearly worldwide but is especially common in Europe, North America, North Africa, and parts of Asia. It primarily grows in damp, fertile soil. They also often grow in masses, forming a monoculture. Botanical Description. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Melissa Petruzzello is Assistant Editor of Plant and Environmental Science and covers a range of content from plants, algae, and fungi, to renewable energy and environmental engineering. The flowers are greenish; they are very small but numerous. This defense mechanism is an effective deterrent against most large herbivores, though the plant is important food for several butterfly species and aphids. A very common plant, the stinging nettle can be found growing in gardens, hedgerows, fields, woodlands and many other habitats. Tea made from the leaves has been used to treat hay fever, diabetes, gout, and arthritis, and fresh stinging leaves are sometimes applied to arthritic joints in a process known as urtification, which is said to stimulate blood flow. U. dioica is known by several other common names, including "Common Nettle", "Bigsting Nettle", "Tall Nettle", and... All true nettles are a part of the Nettle Family Urticaceae. Flowering time: July–September. Burning Nettle vs. Stinging Nettle. Burning nettle, also known as small nettle or annual nettle, generally reaches heights of 5 to 24 inches (12.5 to 61 cm). The plant is common in herbal medicine, and young leaves can be cooked and eaten as a nutritious potherb. Fresh nettle leaves can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-5 days. Overview Information White dead nettle flower is a plant that looks like stinging nettle but doesn't cause stinging when touched. They inject a mix of acetylcholine, formic acid, histamine, and serotonin, causing an itchy, burning rash in humans and other animals that may last up to 12 hours. The pretty small tortoiseshell is a familiar garden visitor that can be seen feeding on flowers all year-round during warm spells.…, It doesn’t matter what size your space is, there’s always room for wildflowers! Navigate parenthood with the help of the Raising Curious Learners podcast. The plants can be dioecious (an individual produces only female or male flowers) or monoecious (an individual bears both male and female flowers), depending on the subspecies. As well as being delicious, nettle tea is reputed to help combat several ailments, … The plant is common in herbal medicine, and young leaves can be cooked and eaten as a nutritious potherb. The flowers grow along stems that shoot out fr… Opposed to this, the production of manure, on the basis of cold water – takes approximately 14 days for production. The flowers are small, green and catkin-like with no petals. Stinging nettle can make a real nuisance of itself in vegetable gardens, but it is also one of Finland’s most diverse and useful plants. The leaves and stems of the plant are covered with brittle, hollow, hair-like structures. Overview Stinging nettle rash occurs when the skin comes into contact with stinging nettles. Stinging Nettle is a surprisingly helpful plant in food and medicine despite its stinging hairs, as seen below. Cooking stinging nettle gets rid of the stinging hairs. Urtica dioica. Given these conditions, nettles can grow to a height of a metre or more. When producing brew and manure from stinging nettles, the time factor is the decisive variable. The fruits are small achenes, and the plants produce copious amounts of seeds. Urtica dioica is a dioecious, herbaceous, perennial plant, 1 to 2 m (3 to 7 ft) tall in the summer and dying down to the ground in winter. Staminate flower is greyish yellow: four tepals (like sepals). Tender handed stroke a nettle, It’ll sting you for your pains, Grasp it like a man of mettle, And it soft as silk remains’. Recognizing the plant and teaching children how to distinguish it can help avoid stinging nettle rash. You can also turn nettles into a liquid fertilizer by filling a barrel with the leaves and branches. The tiny green or white flowers are borne in dense whorled clusters in the leaf axils and stem tips and are wind-pollinated. Stinging Nettle Recipes. It has widely spreading rhizomes and stolons, which are bright yellow, as are the roots. Stinging Nettles are rich in vitamin A, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. Updates? Realize, you must use great care when raising and preparing it for use. The soft, green leaves are 3 to 15 cm (1 to 6 in) long and are borne oppositely on an erect, wiry, green stem. Hunting dogs running through stinging nettle thickets have been poisoned, sometimes lethally, by the massive accumulation of stings. The pollen produced by the male flowers is haploid (1n) meaning that it contains one set of chromosomes. Nettle leaf, also called Urtica dioica, has been used in traditional medicine for many centuries. The root and above ground parts are used as medicine. Stinging nettle is used for diabetes and osteoarthritis. Inflorescence is catkin-like, 48 cm (1.63.2\") long. They need to stay in a closed container. This means in detail, that a brew with the usage of boiling water has to be prepared within 2 minutes and should be ready for application after additional 24 hours.