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Nettle – this prickly plant is edible (and nutritious), and its fibers can be used to weave string or twine

Stinging nettles

About the stinging nettle (Urtica and Laportea species) plant

Nettle plants can grow several feet high and sometimes grow as shrubs. The leaves and stalks are arranged across opposite sides of the stem.  The leaves are elliptic, ovate, or circular.  The leaf blades typically have 3-5 veins (rarely up to seven) and are serrated or coarsely toothed.  They have small, inconspicuous flowers. Fine, hairlike bristles cover the stems, leafstalks, and undersides of leaves. The bristles cause a stinging sensation when they touch the skin.

Where to find stinging nettle plants

Nettles prefer moist areas along streams or at the margins of forests. They are found throughout North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern Europe.

Edible parts of the stinging nettle plant

Young shoots and leaves are edible. Soaking the plants in water or boiling the plant for 10 to 15 minutes destroys the stinging element of the bristles which allows them to be handled and eaten.  After the nettle has entered the flowering and seed stages, the leaves develop gritty particles called “cystoliths” which can irritate the urinary tract in some individuals.

This plant is very nutritious and tastes similar to spinach and cucumber when cooked.  It is rich in vitamins A, C, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium.

Other uses for the stinging nettle plant

Mature stems have a fibrous layer that you can divide into individual fibers and use to weave string or twine.

Stinging nettle plant picture gallery

Image Credits

In-Article Image Credits

Stinging nettles via Wikimedia Commons by Lis Burke with usage type - Creative Commons License. June 30, 2007
Stinging nettles via Wikimedia Commons by Leonora Ellie Enking with usage type - Creative Commons License. July 27, 2016
Stinging nettles Urtica dioica via Wikimedia Commons by James Steakley with usage type - Creative Commons License. June 29, 2014
Stinging nettles via Wikimedia Commons with usage type - Creative Commons License. May 23, 2011
Stinging nettles (Urtica dioica), Nettle family (Urticaceae) via Wikimedia Commons by Andrey Zharkikh with usage type - Creative Commons License. August 22, 2015
Stinging nettles in Ewing Township, Mercer County, New Jersey via Wikimedia Commons with usage type - Creative Commons License. June 15, 2022
Stinging nettles Arundo donax - Urtica dioica via Wikimedia Commons with usage type - Creative Commons License. May 1, 2014
Stinging nettles via Atlas Rosin PL by Marek Klusczynski with usage type - Creative Commons License. May 10, 2019
Stinging nettles via Atlas Roslin Pl by Marek Kluszczynski with usage type - Creative Commons License. May 10, 2019
Stinging nettles via Atlas Roslin PL by Joanna Boisse with usage type - Creative Commons License. May 10, 2019
Stinging nettles via Wikimedia Commons with usage type - Creative Commons License. April 5, 2015
Stinging nettles via Atlas Roslin Pl by Zbigniew Niepokoj with usage type - Creative Commons License. May 10, 2019
Stinging nettles via Uwe H. Friese with usage type - GNU Free. 2003
Stinging nettles via Wikimedia Commons with usage type - Creative Commons License. January 17, 2011
Stinging nettles Urtica Dioica via Wikimedia Commons with usage type - Creative Commons License
Stinging nettles Urtica Dioica leaves and fruit seeds via Wikimedia Commons by Skalle-Per Hedenhos with usage type - Creative Commons License. July 18, 2019
Stinging nettles stem and stingers defensive hairs closeup via Wikimedia Commons by Frank Vincentz with usage type - GNU Free. August 3, 2007
Stinging nettle leaves close via Wikimedia Commons with usage type - GNU Free. October 25, 2006
Stinging nettle Urtica Dioica male fruit yellow via Wikimedia Commons by Frank Vincentz with usage type - GNU Free. July 28, 2007
Stinging nettle Urtica Dioica male fruit via Wikimedia Commons by Frank Vincentz with usage type - GNU Free. July 26, 2007
Stinging nettle Urtica Dioica closeup of stingers on stem and female flowers via Wikimedia Commons by Frank Vincentz with usage type - GNU Free. August 3, 2007
Stinging nettle plant fruit via Wikimedia Commons by Frank Vincentz with usage type - GNU Free. July 26, 2007
Stinging nettle plant Illustration by Otto Wilhelm Thomé (1885) via Otto Wilhelm Thome with usage type - Public Domain. 1885
Stinging nettle full plant via Wikimedia Commons by Frank Xaver with usage type - Creative Commons License. June 13, 2009
Stinging nettles caterpillars feeding on leaves via Wikimedia Commons by Manfred Wemer with usage type - Creative Commons License. August 20, 2021
Stinging nettle Laportea peduncularis leaves and fruit via Wikimedia Commons by M. Purves with usage type - GNU Free. March 20, 2011
Stinging nettles Laportea peduncularis latidens via Wikimedia Commons by M. Purves with usage type - GNU Free. February 7, 2011
Stinging nettles Laportea aestuans (Urticaceae) leaves and fruit seeds via Wikimedia Commons by Alexey Yakovlev with usage type - Creative Commons License. August 6, 2016

Featured Image Credit

Stinging nettles via Uwe H. Friese with usage type - GNU Free. 2003

 

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