Stinging Nettle, aka Urtica dioica, has been used for food, medicine, and fiber dating back to the Bronze Age!
Nettle can grow up to 8 feet tall and has a square, fibrous stem with deep grooves running down it. The dark green leaves are ovate and sharply toothed with a heart-shaped base and a pointy tip. Both leaves and stems are covered with tiny hollow hairs which contain formic acid and silica. They like to grow in nutrient-rich soil, so you’ll often find them growing around compost piles, in bottomland forested, and along streams. Wood Nettle (Laportea canadensis) is in the Urtica family and stings, but it is different from Stinging Nettle. Wood Nettle is still edible but slightly differs medicinally and nutritionally.
Let’s take a deep dive into some of its uses!
Food:
This plant is jam-packed with nutrients. Stinging Nettle contains vitamins A, C, K, E, and minerals including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and sodium. Nettle also contains carotene, lutein, all of the essential amino acids, plus polyphenols such as Kaempferol, quercetin, caffeic acid, coumarins, and other flavonoids. What does it taste like? Nettle is similar to spinach but has a more savory, mineral flavor kind of like mild seaweed without the salt content. It makes a delicious addition or soups and pestos. You can drink nettle tea on its own, or pair it with peppermint, tulsi, anise hyssop or other tasty herbs.
Medicine:
Plants that are so nutrient-dense are also often used medicinally. Any herbalist you ask will likely gush about how much they love this plant.
Here are just some examples of what stinging nettle has been used for medicinally:
-Reduces most forms of inflammation in the body
-Nourishes and tones veins, and improves vein elasticity
-Allergies: Improves your body’s resistance to pollens, molds, and environmental pollutants, and prevents mucous membrane hyperactivity
-Urinary and prostate issues
-Promotes healthy blood clotting
-Anemia, eczema, dandruff, edema, and hives
Being a diuretic, Nettles can be a bit drying for some. They are generally considered safe for most individuals, even over an extended period of time.
Fiber:
The use of stinging nettle for fiber and food predates medieval times. Along with flax and hemp, nettle was the most important plant-based textile material in Europe since it grows even in northern climates, unlike cotton.
Interestingly, an archaeological site in Denmark dated to 2800 years ago revealed cloth made from stinging nettle was used to wrap human remains. The site was a rich burial mound and the cloth was imported from elsewhere in Scandinavia, which indicates nettle fiber was deliberately chosen and may have been a luxury item.
What is your experience with Stinging Nettle? Comment below and let us know!
Author: Julie Douglas
Julie is the Marketing & Communications Associate. She is the owner and Clinical herbalist at Wildkrafted Kitchen, a holistic healthcare company in Asheville, NC. Julie is a medicinal herb grower, ethical wildcrafter, educator, and formulator of internal and external medicines. After graduating with an AA focusing on Photography and Ceramic art, Julie went on to pursue their passion for sustainable small-scale agriculture in Washington state where she apprenticed on various organic farms. After discovering their affinity for medicinal herbs, they moved to Asheville to study Holistic Herbalism at the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine. Julie’s main goals are to make alternative healthcare accessible to marginalized communities, decolonizing herbal medicine, and be part of mutual aid networks which strengthen and empower the community.
