Upper drooping female flowers of common Stinging Nettle / Urtica dioica in sunshine. It has widely spreading rhizomes and stolons, which are bright yellow, as are the roots. Stinging or common nettles (Urtica dioica) are widespread across the U.K. Updates? Documented accounts of its use date as far back as 1200 BC, and its uses are widespread. 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. This defense mechanism is an effective deterrent against most large herbivores, though the plant is important food for several butterfly species and aphids. Similarly, the ovary within the female flower is haploid (1n). The leaves have distinctly serrated edges, with each leaf margin looking like a row of pointed teeth. A very common plant, the stinging nettle can be found growing in gardens, hedgerows, fields, woodlands and many other habitats. The leaves and stems of the plant are covered with brittle, hollow, hair-like structures. 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! Stinging nettles are plants that are commonly found … 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. Stinging nettle, (Urtica dioica), also called common nettle, weedy perennial plant of the nettle family (Urticaceae), known for its stinging leaves. Fresh nettle leaves can be stored in the refrigerator for 2-5 days. Description: Although they can reach greater heights, stinging nettles usually grow to about three to four feet tall. Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica, also known as common nettle or nettle leaf) is an herbaceous perennial plant. Stinging nettle, or Urtica dioica, is a common plant that grows in the United States, Canada, and Europe. 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 root and above ground parts are used as medicine. From the nutrition point of view, they pack a wallop as well. The stinging trichomes of the leaves and stems have bulbous tips that break off when brushed against, revealing needlelike tubes that pierce the skin. 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. Stinging nettle flowers. Focusing on th… The stinging nettle is a plant found practically all over the world. Recognizing the plant and teaching children how to distinguish it can help avoid stinging nettle rash. Inflorescence is catkin-like, 48 cm (1.63.2\") long. Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), Different types of protected wildlife sites. You can also turn nettles into a liquid fertilizer by filling a barrel with the leaves and branches. Inflammation is your body’s way of healing itself and fighting infections. Like most weeds Stinging Nettle (Urtica urens) can be a pain for gardeners. Stinging Nettle is a surprisingly helpful plant in food and medicine despite its stinging hairs, as seen below. 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). 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. Early spring is the best time to harvest — I try to pick more early in the season and store for later use. Family. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 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. Cover the barrel with a lid because this liquid will have a strong smell! It usually pops up each spring, and easily spreads after flowering and going to seed. Unlike deadnettles (Lamium), stinging nettles (Urtica) have stinging hairs that make them quickly apparent to the gardener when weeding. Opposed to this, the production of manure, on the basis of cold water – takes approximately 14 days for production. It is native to Europe. Stinging nettle has a long history of use as a medicinal herb and is still used in folk medicine for a wide array of disorders, though there is limited clinical evidence supporting its efficacy. Flowers: Stinging nettle is a dioecious (staminate and pistillate flowers on different plants) plant with very small flowers. Hunting dogs running through stinging nettle thickets have been poisoned, sometimes lethally, by the massive accumulation of stings. The stinging nettle is a familiar and common plant, often firmly rooted in our memories after our first, hands-on experience - a prickling irritation that's not forgotten easily! Medicinal Uses . The young shoots are tasty and extremely healthy in soups, stews and pancakes. It bears small, greenish or brownish, numerous flower… Stinging Nettle Liquid Fertilizer. The plant is common in herbal medicine, and young leaves can be cooked and eaten as a nutritious potherb. Given these conditions, nettles can grow to a height of a metre or more. Weigh them down with a stone and fill it up with water. Burning Nettle vs. Stinging Nettle. Realize, you must use great care when raising and preparing it for use. Nettle leaf, also called Urtica dioica, has been used in traditional medicine for many centuries. If you’re a gardener who enjoys raising non-traditional herbs in your garden, stinging nettle could still be your herb of choice. It is used to make medicine. Stinging nettle may seem like a risky herb to grow, but you can’t overlook its benefits. The flowers are greenish; they are very small but numerous. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica. Urticaceae. Pollinators and other beneficial insects – Stinging nettle flowers are wind-pollinated, not insect-pollinated. The pollen produced by the male flowers is haploid (1n) meaning that it contains one set of chromosomes. Omissions? They need to stay in a closed container. The plant and its flowers and fruits are covered in fierce stinging hairs that break off in the skin, releasing various irritant compounds. If you see a group of such plants, look for those noxious bristly hairs along the stems of the plants and on the undersides of their leaves. Overview Stinging nettle rash occurs when the skin comes into contact with stinging nettles. Scientific Name. 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. Botanical Description. May Reduce Inflammation. Status. The Wildlife Trusts is a movement made up of 46 Wildlife Trusts: independent charities with a shared mission. It also provides great perennial habitat for a wide range of … The fruits are small achenes, and the plants produce copious amounts of seeds. 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. Stinging nettle is an herbaceous plant and often grows to about 2 metres (6.5 feet) in height. Corrections? Urtica dioica. S oaking, cooking, … Stinging Nettles are rich in vitamin A, potassium, magnesium, and calcium. The dried plant can be used as livestock feed, and heating or cooking the fresh leaves renders them safe for consumption. The tiny green or white flowers are borne in dense whorled clusters in the leaf axils and stem tips and are wind-pollinated. 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. Navigate parenthood with the help of the Raising Curious Learners podcast. They also bear brownish-green tassle-like flowers from May to September, quite different from the more attractive hooded flowers … Cooking stinging nettle gets rid of the stinging hairs. 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. Preserving Nettle Plants. Burning nettle, also known as small nettle or annual nettle, generally reaches heights of 5 to 24 inches (12.5 to 61 cm). Reviving nettle tea. The nettle has sharp hairs on its leaves. After fermenting it for 5-6 weeks the nettle … The stinging nettle is a flowering plant that, like all plants, exhibits alteration of generations. They also often grow in masses, forming a monoculture. Its preference for damp, fertile and disturbed ground makes it a good coloniser of places enriched by human activities, such as agriculture and development. It has a single carpel and the stigma is brush-like. It has been grown, foraged, and harvested for thousands of years. The soft, green leaves are 3 to 15 cm (1 to 6 in) long and are borne oppositely on an erect, wiry, green stem. Stinging nettle is distributed nearly worldwide but is especially common in Europe, North America, North Africa, and parts of Asia. They are also high in protein and when cooked are very mild, tasting similar to spinach but slightly rougher. Specimen has leaf curl and may have been poisoned or short of H2O ID: 2C2X9RM (RF) Common or Stinging Nettle (urtica dioica), close up of a cluster of the plants in flower. When producing brew and manure from stinging nettles, the time factor is the decisive variable. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). She has her M.S.... Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. 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. They tolerate a wide variety of soil conditions, though they seem to like moisture and soils rich in nitrate and phosphate. Topical creams have also been developed for joint pain and various skin ailments, including eczema and dandruff. There are many variations of nettle tea recipes that feature a number of other herbs like raspberry leaf, echinacea or goldenseal. Nettle is native to Europe but now grows in damp fertile soils virtually throughout the world. Where lies the difference between brew and manure? The rootstock is used as a diuretic and as an herbal treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (prostate enlargement) and other urinary disorders. The best way to prevent a stinging nettle rash is to avoid stinging nettles touching the skin. The flowers grow along stems that shoot out fr… That said, I think they have a more subtle, lighter flavor, especially when used raw. The flowers occur in the axils of leaf-like bracts. The plant is considered an herbaceous perennial, meaning that it has herbal properties and grows back in the same areas year after year. Nevertheless, stinging nettle is a host plant for a number of butterfly and moth species. … The flowers are small, green and catkin-like with no petals. Stinging nettle is used for diabetes and osteoarthritis. Pick only the tenderest, youngest leaves. Pistillate flower has four tepals in different-sized pairs, are greyish green and hairy. Like most edible plants, the best way to eat nettle is to consume it shortly after being harvested. Although contact causes intense stinging and itching, symptoms usually last less than an hour; some people may have skin discoloration for several days. Stinging nettle plants are often compared to spinach because they can be used in the same ways that you would normally use spinach. The flowers have four stamens and yellow anthers. The plant is common in herbal medicine, and young leaves can be cooked and eaten as a nutritious potherb. - they are virtually indistinguishable from leaves. Stinging nettle leaves and flowers can be dried, and the dried leaves can be steeped and made into a tea. 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. Definitely not a plant to step on with bare feet! Set aside an area of lawn, part of a border, or even a…, Set up a ‘nectar café’ by planting flowers for pollinating insects like bees and butterflies, The Wildlife Trusts: Protecting Wildlife for the Future. Registered charity number 207238. The plant can spread vegetatively with its yellow creeping rhizomes and often forms dense colonies. Flowering time: July–September. Staminate flower is greyish yellow: four tepals (like sepals). An upright plant with dull green, serrated leaves, covered with stinging hairs. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Stinging nettle, (Urtica dioica), also called common nettle, weedy perennial plant of the nettle family , known for its stinging leaves. They can be found in woodlands, hedgerows, gardens and disturbed ground. Additionally, stinging nettle has been used as a source of bast fibres for textiles and is sometimes used in cosmetics. The dead nettles do not sting, both white dead nettles and red dead nettles are quite common flowers. 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 Recipes. 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’. As well as being delicious, nettle tea is reputed to help combat several ailments, … The leaves have a strongly serrated margin, a cordate base, and an acuminate tip with a terminal leaf tooth longer than adjacent laterals. Overview Information Stinging nettle is a plant. Overview Information White dead nettle flower is a plant that looks like stinging nettle but doesn't cause stinging when touched.

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