A nourishing, iron-rich plant, nettle revitalizes the blood and energizes the body. It is well suited for treating anemia, exhaustion, allergies and painful muscles and joints. The leaves are used to make an infusion and are harvested before the flowering period begins. The fibrous stems can be made into twine, nets, clothes or other items.

_{Photo by @krnel}

Be careful with 5 of the 6 species that have hollow stinging hairs on the leaves and stems. They act like needles that inject histamine and other chemicals which cause a painful stinging feeling It's not too pleasant.

_{wikimedia/Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0}

Nettle is also called common nettle, stinging nettle, burn nettle, burn weed, burn hazel or nettle leaf. It's a herbaceous perennial flowering plant with the scientific botanical name of Urtica dioica. Other names include Bichu, Common Nettle, Feuille d’Ortie, Graine d’Ortie, Grande Ortie, Great Stinging Nettle, Nettle Seed, Nettle Worth, Ortie, Ortie Brûlante, Ortie des Jardins, Ortie Dioïque, Ortie Méchante, Ortiga, Small Nettle, Urtica, Urtica urens, Urticae Herba et Folium, Urticae Radix.

Key Points

• nutritious plant, high iron, useful for treating anemia
• stem fibers can be used like hemp to make clothing
• used to treat urinary problems

History

Nettle is featured in Aesop's fable "The Boy and the Nettle". Urtica comes from the Latin urere, which means to burn.

Where is it found?

Nettle is native to Europe, Asia, North America and north Africa. It's also been introduced elsewhere. You can find it in waste grounds, disturbed areas, hedgerows, woods and more places. It really likes soil with phosphate and nitrogen.

What's it used for?

Nettle is extremely edible and nutritious, once you deal with the annoying needles. Young leaves alone should be used for eating, and can be cooked, which gets rid of the stinging needles. They can be added to soups or other meals. Leaves are also dried for later use which also gets rid of the needles. Older leaves develop gritty particles called cystoliths which act as an irritant to the kidneys.

Nettle is a good source of nutrients, including high amounts of minerals like iron and vitamins like A and C.

The plant is harvested commercially for chlorophyll and used as a green coloring agent in food and medicine. Nettle tea can be made from leaves. Juice from the leaves can be used to curdle plant milks.

Medicinally, nettle is widely used, but "scientific" evidence is lacking to back up all the claims.

The root is used to treat urination problems related to an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia [BPH]), which include nighttime urination, too frequent urination, painful urination, inability to urinate, and irritable bladder. It's also used for joint ailments, as a diuretic, and as an astringent.

The aerial parts are used with fluids for "irrigation therapy" to treat urinary tract infections (UTI), urinary tract inflammation, and kidney stones (nephrolithiasis). They are also used for allergies, hayfever, and osteoarthritis.

Other uses include to treat internal bleeding, including uterine bleeding, nosebleeds, bowel bleeding, anemia, poor circulation, an enlarged spleen, diabetes and other endocrine disorders, stomach acid, diarrhea and dysentery, asthma, lung congestion, rash and eczema, cancer, preventing the signs of aging, "blood purification", wound healing, and as a general tonic. Applied to the skin it's been used for muscle aches and pains, oily scalp, oily hair, and hair loss (alopecia).

In ancient Greece, it was used as a laxative and diuretic.

Are there any risks?

Stinging nettle appears to be safe for long term use up to 2 years, either orally or on the skin. But it might cause stomach discomfort and sweating. Pregnant women should avoid as nettle might stimulate the uterine contractions and cause miscarriages. Breast feeding women should also avoid.

Those with diabetes should be careful, as nettle can decrease blood sugar levels. Nettle might also lower blood pressure, so be careful if you have low blood pressure. People with kidney problems should also know about nettle's ability to increase urine flow.

Some drugs interact with nettle, such as lithium which can stay in the body longer; antidiabetes drugs that lower blood sugar will lower it more with nettle; antihypertensive drugs that lower blood pressure with interact; and sedative medications might also be affected as nettle may cause sleepiness and drowsiness.

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References:

• Urtica dioica
• STINGING NETTLE
• Urtica dioica - L.
• Stinging Nettle Urtica dioica

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Previous posts on Getting to Know Herbs:
Peppermint | Dandelion | Feverfew | Lemon Balm | Hawthorn | Chickweed | Northern Bayberry | Lady's Mantle | Hyssop | Burdock | Catnip | Lavender | Yarrow | Marshmallow | Skullcap | Codonopsis (Poor Man's Ginseng) | Schisandra | Rhodiola | Canadian Goldenrod | German Chamomile | Blue Vervain | Blessed or Holy Thistle | Common Horehound | Cayenne | Ashwagandha | Gotu Kola | Common Verbana/Vervain | Holy Basil | Sweet Annie | Globe Artichoke | Butterfly Weed / Pleurisy Root | Joe-Pye Weed / Gravel Root | Valerian | Malva/Mallow | Boneset | Elecampane | Lungwort | Cramp Bark | Motherwort | Common Plantain | Eleuthero (Siberian ginseng) | Black Cohosh | Common Bearberry | Mahonia Mountain Grape (Oregon Grape) | Blue Cohosh | Goldenseal

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