Urtica - Nettle - Ortie - Brennesse
The nettle is a fibrous plant and was used in cloth manufacture from the Bronze Age to the early 20th century. Already in Ancient Greece it was used medicinally, Hippocrates (often called the father of medicine) used it as a diuretic (increased passing of urine). The Romans used it against hair loss.
During WWII with no fresh vegetables available in early spring it was a welcome source of Vitamin C and for more practical reasons hundreds of tons were gathered annually in the UK for the extraction of chlorophyll and to make dyes for camouflage nets.
Nettles are found in damp, shady environments in hedgerows, woodlands and around settlements. The stem and underside of the leaves are covered in hollow hairs. The hairs contain an acid (formic acid), histamine and other chemicals that causes the stinging sensation.
Medicinal properties
In Europe we have a few different varieties of Nettle, all three have medicinal properties:
- Urtica dioica (Common Nettle), a perennial, female and male flowers on separate plants, 1.5m. The hanging female flowers are in dense racemes, upright male flowers have interrupted racemes.
- Urtica urens (Annual Nettle), male and female flowers on the same plants, flowers look similar to the ones of the Common Nettle.
- Urtica pilulifera (Roman Nettle) male and female flowers on the same plant, found in S. Europe, with interrupted racemes of male flowers and globose female flowers.
Nettles are rich in vitamins notably A, C, B2, K and Pantothenic acid (B5) and minerals such as Potassium, Calcium and Silicium and trace elements like Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Sulphur and Iron. The available Vitamin C helps with the absorption of the iron.
It is an astringent herb (causing contraction of skin cells and other tissues i.e. stops bleeding), a diuretic (causing increased passing of urine) and a tonic herb (controls bleeding, clears toxins and slightly reduces blood pressure and blood sugar levels).
Nettles increase the passing of urine. They expel uric acid from the joints as well as the body tissues. Uric acid can form sharp crystals in the joints (gout, a form of joint arthritis) and can also build up in the kidneys forming kidney stones.
Inside the Nettle is a plant hormone called Secretin. One of the functions of Secretin is the regulation of the gastric acids which in turn improves the digestion. It stimulates the digestive system to expel digestion enzymes into the duodenum, the first section of the small intestines.
In Folk Medicine, in spring the young leaves were gathered as a tonic for the body to restore itself after the winter when the available nutrients were limited and people used to eat heavier food. The period to use the nettle was from 15 March to 15 April.
Other uses
Hair: Nettle tea is a tonic for the scalp in the form of a last rinse as it helps against dandruff, but only for dark hair as the high chlorophyll content colours fair and grey hair.
Spring Tonic: Only fresh new leaves should be used for culinary purposes. The plant should be no more than 20-30 cm high to gather the leaves (don’t forget to used gloves!). Make a tea with 30 grams of fresh nettle leaves to one litre of boiling water, let it seep for 3 minutes, drink 3 cups a day from March to April for one month. If making a cup of spring tonic use a tbsp of fresh or 1tsp of dried nettle.
Culinary purposes
The most common way to use Nettles is to either add to a vegetable soup just 5 mins before it is ready and then puree the soup or in quiches, any baked recipe that uses vegetables. On its own it has a rather bland taste.
Nettles are also used in Cheese-making – it makes a firm cheese. Apparently it is supposed to be nice to add to Fromage Blanc but I have not tried is myself.
If you are wondering where the knowledge of herbs comes from, 29 years ago I trained as a herbalist in Belgium, where Lance and I were living at the time. It was a two-year course followed by a one-year course on how to grow herbs commercially, and another year on how to prepare herbal remedies. A long time ago and although it changed my life I did not go further into it, but the interest remained.
