Botanical Archive No. 007

Nettle

Urtica dioica

Traditionally used for anti-inflammatory, diuretic, and tonic purposes. It was used for joint pain as well, people would rub fresh nettles to stimulate blood flow. In Scotland, nettle cloth was common in the 16th and 17th centuries. Fibers were used to make rope and other similar materials and were made into jewelry beads.

Archive record

Harvest

Sharp stinging hairs are all over this plant, so make sure to wear gloves while gathering. Steaming or boiling the leaves removes the hairs, so you can safely eat them.

Grown

Temperate regions, near steams, fields, and forest clearings.

Bloom time

May- October

Drying notes

When nettle is dried, it naturally loses its stinging properties, so you don't have to worry about that part. Wear gloves to tie and hang it up to dry, give it one to two weeks in a cool, dry, dark room.

Storage

Store in a mason jar with a tightly sealed lid out of direct sunlight.

Recipes

Nettle can be used in teas, infusions, soups, pesto, vinegar, honey, oil, salves, bath soaks, and the list goes on. Nettle is extremely versatile and used in countless remedies.

Nettle can get up to 7 feet tall. Their leaves are covered with stinging hairs. They will grow continuously in the same spot every single year. Harvest soon after growth in early spring, before the flowering top develops. They taste similar to spinach. You can eat them raw by picking a young leaf, folding it inward, and eating it fresh, which protects you from the stinging hairs.

Growing up, nettle was hated in the garden. My mom would always go out and pull it out without gloves on and have her hands covered in the stinging hairs. Every year they'd come back like clockwork, unless you got every single root out of the ground, they'd always be back. Now she keeps her plants on a nice balcony away from the nettle. This plant is such an important plant for an apothecary, I use it in so many recipes of mine, constantly going through my stock. If you want a small apothecary, nettle needs to be a keystone plant in your collection. Just make sure to wear gloves when gathering it.