Urtica dioica -- stinging nettle, a non-binary ambiguous herb ally.
Nettle family (Urticaceae), Urtica dioica, var gracilis, comes from the Latin word uro, which means “to burn,” because its leaves can cause a temporary burning sensation upon contact. Formerly it was thought the leaf hairs' formic acid was responsible for the sting which is the stinging burning you get from a red fire ant sting bite. I still call it formic acid because that's how i schooled it, it certainly feels like a fire ant bite. Yet the mix of chemicals in the trichomes is much more complex, containing stinging hairs or trichomes, whose tips come off when touched, transforming the hair into a needle that will inject several chemicals including acetylcholine, histamine, 5-HT (serotonin), moroidin, leukotrienes and possibly formic acid. So it's a lot more than a nutritional green. Stinging nettle produce a stinging sensation upon contact, which like anything is going to vary among different people. So be cautious with handling the plant as some people react strongly to it.
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The stinging aspect of stinging nettle is eliminated with cooking, drying, freezing. Always use gloves when handling the fresh plant. The herb has both Mars, yang blood and Venus yin sinew retreating nurturing qualities. Like many plants which appear at first glance to be quite simple but are in fact complete living distinct electro chemical ecosystems within themselves and fundamentally different than any created object. Since so much human two legged stuff in this present moment is factory made throw away eye candy, it can be hard to grasp that living breathing things that twolegs have interacted with for ten's of thousands of years are still here intact and fully present, close by and widely present. Nettle is one of those beings who was there and still is.
The plant favors rich black dark, wet moist soils, often stream side, wet with sun. Leaves are opposite coarsley serrate, toothed, triangular shape. It can grow up to 6 feet tall by Midsommer. There are narrow leafed shorter varieties so look for the larger leafed, deep green, crinkly, furrowed leaf varieties which are found in wet rich soils. Here found on Turtle Island in Pend Oreille.
The entire plant, root, to stem, to seed is valuable, as an edible nutritional powerhouse. Full of vitamins A, C and some B vitamins. And while it's possible to document what's in a nettle in verbal terms, the plant has been with BioSpirit for so long it's relational, part of us. Fresh nettles contain (per 100g) 670 mg potassium, 590 mg calcium, 18 mcg chromium, 270 mcg copper, 86 mg magnesium, and 4.4 mg iron but that's just starting to cover it.
It falls into the food-slash-medicine plant category and was used as an edible green, fibre cordage plant, and rejuvenate spring tonic wherever encountered. As a food-slash-medicine plant it has a surprisingly complex chemistry. This is a give away, as how many nutritional greens, bite and bark ouch, when you bare handed touch them? So there's a lot going on here. Likewise herbally it is considered bivalent or ambivalent in that in the body it does different things, in different bodies, normally thought to be contradictory as male female, heating cooling, prostate and uterus. etc. Which can be explained astrologicaly in that it is linked to both Mars and Venus, Nettle is traditionally considered a plant ruled primarily by Mars, due to both its "hot stinging" kinda warlike oppositional conflict edge and its activity: sudden, violent, irritating, inflammatory, intense, purifying and acting on the formation of blood. The secondary ruler of nettle is Venus, by virtue of both its action on the kidney chi sinews and adrenals and its ability to seduce the body into homeostasis, promote and stimulate lactation in women and treat rheumatism and gout. So it is a non-binary herb, both a male and female herb, somehow beyond gender. Nettle has an earthy green slightly sweet salty taste which is noted in the swampy wet varieties. The roots are more astringent bitter noted in the tincture rather than leaf.
Use only after cooking/freezing, which neutralizes the stinging constituents present on leaves and stem, because it would not be a nice ride in the mouth and throat. Gather the first smaller tender spring leaves if gathering for pesto. If gathering the leaves for infusion use the larger later summer leaves. A large handful of the fresh leaf in boiling water makes a mineral rich alkaline decoction which is flavorful, slightly sweet, distinctly anti inflammatory and mildly diuretic. It also helps to regulate blood sugar both facilitating transport of blood glucose into muscle and supports the pancreas to balance insulin sensitivity. It is useful as a spring tonic especially in northern climes to alkalinize, where digestive stagnation can occur after a winter of meat heavy acidic diet. Nettle tends to invigorate the whole body after winter inactivity. As an adjunct in urinary infection UTI stinging nettle, with pipsissiwa, uva ursi, or huckleberry leaf family plants, stinging nettle helps to alkalize urine and potentiate arbutin present in our UTI plants. Thoroughly dried leaf can be used in cold infusion overnight , 1/2 ounce or so of dried leaf in a quart of water, kept overnight and drunk the next day. The liquid decoction of fresh leaf, or of dried leaf cold infusion, and or tincture can assist with spring seasonal pollen issues, hay fever, stuffy nose. These constituents seem to be concentrating in the seed and root if making an antihistamine formula and combine well with ambrosia species. The constituents promote drainage and lessen inflammation. It works best when used daily. The decoction applied to hair and scalp with yerba del negrita, orange globe mallow helps to encourage hair growth when applied to the scalp and hair and as a hair rinse.
Like many now you see it now you don't herbs, the question is how to store nettles. Gather Midsommer plants, tie in bundles, hand upside down for drying. Another method is to gather leaf and freeze, the freezing dissipates the stinging effect but not the stinging constituents. I think that's important to understand, because i think at least some of the stinging has to do with disregulating the delivery system. Once frozen the leaves can be crumbled, stored in the freezer and added directly to soups, blender green smoothies, used for cold infusion etc, I think herbs-a-commerce amounts of nettle isn't enough to do much, as in a gelatin capsule. You need to get the nettle into your body, as in large amounts.
Stinging nettle root medicine. Of course it's never possible to have enough nettles. No matter how much you have, you'll use it up. Which leads to stinging nettle root medicine, which of course can be stored. It doesn't have obviously the green nutritional power of fresh but it is a medicinal in its own right. The root medicine can be used for all the above uses, regulate blood glucose, anti inflammatory, diuretic, seasonal allergies, bph in men, hormone regulation in women etc. specifically the root medicine is best for bph, and hormone regulation in women.
The trailing, close to surface root is easily gathered in spring, find a moist wet stand, and these roots tend to be both trailing and tap root. The early spring or late fall is best for root medicine, especially the rhizome close to the surface trailing root. You can often gather the trailing roots in early spring by hand without any digging. Often times there will be both tap roots and side trailing roots. The root medicine is best used to help support bph issues in men, enlarged prostate and has a hormone balancing effect in both men and women. The root medicine used regularly can assist with bph and aid in ejaculation, strength and hardness of erection. Women have reported it is helpful in regulation of periods. The fresh root gathered, and also the gathered seed heads, since in general stinging nettle root is gathered late summer, so seeds will be present. tinctures 1:2 60-75% alcohol or dried 1:5.
Stinging nettle produce a stinging sensation upon contact, which like anything is going to vary among different people. Obviously if you react with extreme hives, that last for days you would not use this method. For me it's more like a 2-4 hour productive counter irritant effect. The stinging sensation is useful as a counter irritant to focus blood flow. The fresh plant is rubbed on arthritic, rheumatism stiff joints, knuckles, knees, etc. as a therapeutic counter irritant. It's also useful for sciatica nerve pain. You can have someone, using gloves, trace the pain pathway with the fresh plant. Traditionally for back pain, a person removes clothing, lays on the stomach flat, and another person takes a stinging nettle switch, and whips the back repeatedly, rubbing the fresh plant directly on the skin, briefly, then pausing for a minute or so to assess reaction, whether to go further or that's enough. As different people react differently to stinging nettle, some more or less sensitive, always use caution, less is more. It's possible with fresh stinging nettle applied topical, spinal manipulation and ball, mat exercise to get some serious healing with spinal nerve compaction issues. Combined, although not simultaneously!, topical liniments and infused oils such as Heracleum maximum -- cow-parsnip root, st johns wort infused oil, arnica, pedicularis, aconite can be applied at various times alternating with therapeutic stretching, ball and mat work to get some serious healing going on.
