05/08/2024
Spring medicine: Urtica dioica (Stinging nettle)
Nettles are not found in dense forest, but rather at its periphery, or in areas recently cleared. From a distance nettles blend in to the flora, but up close the unmistakable spines help identification. If you're unsure, try picking it without gloves 😬 The spines contain formic acid, the same thing that makes an ant bite sting!
Harvest carefully (and of course, sustainably) leaving the strongest plants to thrive and not picking every leaf from a plant. Both the leaves and root can be used, but most commonly people forage the leaf. It can be dried and used for tea or tinctures or added fresh to soups and virtually any dish that calls for spinach or to which you'd like to add leafy greens. One of my favourite ways to eat it is in a frittata with dill and feta. The main thing is that it be cooked in order to neutralize the sting!
Medicinally, the leaves are a mild diuretic helping in swelling disorders related to kidney or cardiac function. Nettles are rich in nutrients, traditionally consumed as one of the first available greens to help the body detox after a winter of consuming preserved, starchy & fatty foods. They are often used in the treatment of eczema, arthritis, allergies, and gout. Nettles are also indicated in states of deficiency, such as postpartum or anemias (they’re rich in iron!) and make a nice addition to a tea that can be sipped throughout the day. The root is typically used for benign prostastic hyperplasia.
Later in the season, the stem was used by indigenous people to weave fishing nets. Related to h**p, nettle becomes very sinewy and yields resilient fibre. The seeds, rich in fatty acids, are a nutritive adaptogen, and can be consumed as you might h**p hearts, on salads or in food. An anecdote that attests to their nutritional value is that of dishonest horse salemen in the 1800's who would feed their horses handfuls of nettle seeds before taking them to market to make their coat shiny and fetch a better price 🐎 Extrapolating, nettle seeds may help to rejuvenate hair & skin in those who are deficient
