Nettle

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Qualities of Nettle

Every plant has an offering, our ancestors said they each had a unique signature which communicated to us their qualities and how they could help.  John Muir spoke of plant friends and how they reveal the glorious traces of the thoughts of God. Wordsworth spoke of their ability to flash upon the inner eye and give the gift of solitude and Patrick Kavanagh claimed the common plant took him beyond the reach of desire. For me the nettle has triumphant qualities often used in times of crisis for food, medicine and fibres and then cursed when no longer needed. Now is a good time to collect nettle and now more than ever to draw upon its triumphant qualities. I write this in my one-bedroomed flat in central Hove and still I feel nature's heart as the memories of my plant friends come to me when I can't get to them. So sit back, breathe put your worries aside and immerse yourself in the qualities of nettle. 

Latin : Urtica diocia  Family: Urticaceae  
History and/or use: Making of fabrics and dyes. Edible leaves full of iron, protein and beneficial minerals 
Widlife Value: Butterfly food plant. 

'Tender handed touch a nettle and it will sting you for your pain, grasp it like a man of mettle and it soft as silk remains.'
 
Nettle, despite it being a noxious weed everyone is trying to destroy, it is a ‘super’ plant that can be used for food, medicine and the making of cloth and cordage. Cordage making begins in the summer once the plant is more mature usually from June/July onwards. Remove the leaves, bash the stem and then open it up to remove the pith. The outer fibres can be plaited or twisted to make strong string or rope. I have found it as enduring as any plant fibre and as strong as deer sinew when made into cordage.

If you have any medical conditions please check with a medical herbalist first before taking any plant and only harvest it if you are 100% sure what it is!

The leaves are full of minerals and contain many vitamins especially A and C. They have a 2.3% iron content and 5.5% protein content by weight. Nettle puree can be made by simmering the leaves for 5 minutes adding butter and seasoning with onion as a tasty alternative to spinach. You can simply boil and steam the vegetable if preferred.
To make nettle crisps just simply shallow fry the freshly picked nettle tops being careful not to burn them and then dab dry with an absorbent paper.
 
As a medicine nettle can be collected just before it flowers to relieve high blood pressure, cystitis, anaemia (due to mineral rich leaves) and can act as a diuretic. Use the leaves fresh or dry. The root can treat diarrhoea and dysentery and be made into a tincture for eczema.
 
The plant can also be used to weave cloth; a bronze age Dane was discovered wrapped in nettle fibres.
Only in the last century the plant was used to make table cloths and bed linen in Scotland.
​In World War Two the plant was gathered to supply chlorophyll for medicines and dye for camouflage nets.

Nettles are also very important for wildlife they support beautiful butterflies such as the comma, red admiral, peacock, painted lady and the small tortoiseshell. 

Keep a patch of nettles and look beyond its spiky appearance to its wealth of uses.
 
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