The stinging nettle urtica dioica

[JonnyP]

Please keep this thread for information only, and not for chatting, it is intended as a resource for future reference......Thanks...See this thread for more details
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=18512
The nettle is one of our most common and most useful plant.
Its a perennial (a plant that lasts throughout the year, or through many years) and grow to 1.5 meters plus. It is covered in stinging hairs, which contain formic acid.
It flowers from may to october.
Nettles contain iron, formic acid, ammonia, silicic acid and histamine. These chemicals help the relief of rhumatism, sciatica etc.. They will increase the haemoglobin in your blood and improve the circulation, purifying the system and act as a good tonic for the whole body. Nettle will also lower the blood pressure and the blood sugar level.
Nettle beer...From Wild Food, by Rodger Phillips
100 nettle stalks, with leaves
12 litres water
1.5 kg sugar
50g cream of tartar
15g yeast

Boil nettles with water for 15 minutes.
Strain and add the sugar and cream of tartar, heat and stir until disolved. Wait until tepid, then add yeast and stir well.
Cover with muslin and leave for 24 hours.
Remove the scum and decant, without disturbing the sediment. Bottle, cork and tie down.

 

[bushtank]

I love my beer so going to have a go at that when the nettles start to show

 

[locum76]

i found this website...

http://www.nettles.org.uk/

very useful indeed!

 

[Nikolai]

i found this website...

http://www.nettles.org.uk/

very useful indeed!

Great link! I will be making un-puree'd nettle soup next time i am out!

 

[Bobbin]

Some more Nettle facts, hope they are of use:

Nettles are rich in Iron and also vitamin C which is necessary for the body to absorb plant-based Iron. Nettle 'tea' was traditionally used as a cleansing Spring tonic and an excellent sources of vitamins/minerals - good for anaemia, arthritis and chronic skin conditions.

Soak a compress in a strong 'tea' and use on strains/aching joints or as a wash for insect bites and wounds.

Nettles are 'astringent' which means they can stop bleeding - the ointment can provide relief from haemorrhoids (NOT from personal experience I hasten to add )

Do not eat old plants uncooked!

 

[JonnyP]

Everyone knows about using dock leaves on a stinging nettle sting, but did you know, its better to use a crushed stinging nettle leaf instead of a dock leaf to ease the sting.....Tis true....

 

[rich59]

I never knew that it was called "urtica". That makes a big connection in my medical brain. Nettle rash is called "Urticaria".

Nettle stings are sometimes used by people with chronic pain as the stings cause a numbness locally that eases pains such as arthritis.

 

[JonnyP]

For some photo's of nettles, click Here

 

[janiepopps]

Fab idea Mr Pickett!

Recipe taken from 'A Hedgerow Cookbook - Glennie Kindred'

Nettle Soup

A basic recipe which can be adapted to include other wild greens;
Sweat some chopped onions, garlic and potato slices in butter. Add this to a vegetable stock, add a bowlful of washed nettle tops. Bring to the boil and cover. Simmer until cooked (about 15 mins). If possible, liquidize the soup, if not, use a whisk to break it up. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and cream. Serve with a swirl of cream on the top.

As a kid I used to wipe butter or marg onto a nettle sting, always worked a treat. And apparently the raw plant was also used as an 'effective, but painful treatment for rheumatism' :yikes:

j

 

[JonnyP]

The following article is reproduced with kind permission of P.Topham, U.S. Nutritional and Herbal Researcher:

Nettle is native to temperate regions of Europe and Asia. It is now widely distributed throughout the world. It grows abundantly in waste ground, hedgerows, ditches and gardens. Often considered a nuisance and weed it is important to the life cycle of many insects and holds great value as a natural healer.

Nettle oil preceded paraffin and the plants juice was used to curdle milk and help to make cheese!

Nettle has a long history of medical use. The Romans used to rub the leaves on their bodies to restore circulation to limbs numbed by the British winters. Nettle also contains vitamin C and iron, and increases the absorption of the latter. This makes it useful in cases of iron deficiency related illnesses according to research.

Studies show that nettle is a circulatory stimulant, helps prevent haemorrhaging and can be used in treating nose bleeds. Nettle is also been known to mildly lower blood sugar levels. Nettle tea offers great relief to hayfever symptoms. This is probably due to the nettles antihistamine qualities. There are numerous other uses.

Copyright © 2000 - 2005 P. Topham:
U.S. Nutritional and Herbal Researcher - All Rights Reserved.



"Nettle oil preceded paraffin".....This is very interesting....I am going to look into this some more......

 

[rich59]

So how could I extract oil from nettles? Do I just press them?

 

[Moonraker]

So how could I extract oil from nettles? Do I just press them?

Specifically 'nettle seed oil' (think hemp oil). The oil is in the seeds not the rest of the plant (well some essential oils)

I haven't done this yet myself but researched it and it goes something like this (adapting to outdoor methods and available utensils)

1. collect nettles in seed at end of season. hang and allow to dry (7-10 days say until stems snap)

this blog has some great advice on nettle seeds, eating them and especially collecting them (see link on page):

Henriette's Herbal Blog - Nettle seed

2. separate seeds from plant material (thrash/rub, winnow)

3. extract oil by either;

a. crushing seeds to release oil content. press pulp to extract oils (think cold pressed virgin olive oil)

b. boil pulp to liberate more oil. rest and skim.

or both?

In the field I guess you could use a technique used still in India of a large pestle and mortar to crush the seeds, or grinding with stones.

4. clarify the oil. well best to remove floaty bits. Easiest way would be letting it rest and the oils separate off.

I imagine if you could boil the pulp over a fire then let it rest this would be a good way, then filter through some cheesecloth or similar?

I have quite a few reference sources which I will try to post later or maybe as a separate topic as it is really interesting as a process and product, as all plant oils are, both for nutritional, medicinal and utility use (illuminant, protecting metals, lubricating, etc). Personally I was interested in the culinary use.

Obviously the technique can be applied to all oil bearing seeds, and indeed other oil bearing plants, including essential oils.

I have no idea on yield and amount needed to process usable quantities.

Realistically rendering fat or bludder would be a much more efficient way of making oil for lights but the pressed oils offer a lot of goodies nutrition wise when you consider it as a food stuff, and medicinally.

For info the original quote actually stated that:

The expressed seeds yield a burning oil, which has been extracted and used in Egypt.

http://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/n/nettle03.html

food for thought....

 

[rich59]

Nice link. But looks like I need to wait to the autumn to harvest nettle seed.

 

[Jodie]

I take it all nettles are free for the picking (obviously taking only a few and
not denuding nature as I go!)? There are several clumps near me and I
thought I might pinch a couple and have a go at making this cordage
business.

Might buy a pair of gardening gloves - I remain unconvinced by the 'grasp
the nettle' philosophy. Pfft!

 

[madrussian]

I have stinging nettles growing in my yard. Planted them myself. Actually you get more of a sting just lightly brushing against them then if you grab the plant I have found.

 

[Jodie]

Moonraker that Henriette's Herbal blog is very good - thanks for that. I also
liked her tagline "welcome to the bark side"

 

[JonnyP]

Nettles make great cordage, click here for some more info http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=5926&highlight=nettle+cordage

 

[JonnyP]

Folk remedies from the past....
once used to make beer, paper and even clothing, the fibrous nettle leaf has been put to more uses than almost any other herb....
A tincture of the seeds is a traditional remedy for fevers and lung disorders, and a decoction of the roots was a well know remedy for pleurisy..
Urtication (stinging of the body with nettles to stimulate the circulation) is a very old Russian tradition. It was used for coughs, paralysis, mustle wasting, sciatica and rhumatism, and to stimulate menstruation...
In world war 2, nettles were gathered for there high chlorophyll content, and used to dress infected wounds and speed the healing...

The word nettle, is thought to be a corruption of the saxon word noedl, meaning, a needle...

Traditional Scottish nettle pudding...

1/2 lb nettle tops
1 leek
1/2 lb sprouts
1 small onion
largs cup of rolled oats or rice
seasoning

Chop the vegetables and put in a muslin bag with the oats or rice in alternate layers. Tie and boil in salted water for 20 minutes, unwrap and serve with melted butter or gravy...

 

[Toddy]

I use nettles for:

Early leaves for a Spring vegetable, like asparagus. Rich in minerals and Vit C, etc.,
Juice from this stage is also used as a natural rennet when there's little else available and in previous times no one wanted to slaughter a calf or a hen for that just as the season was turning.

Slightly later for soup and for tea, and this stage also makes a good robb (syrup base for medicine) Makes a frothy (explosive, be careful!) beer.

Full size but not in flower for dye and cordage. I've also used this stage for soup and it was fine. Again for beer, though it's better I think now used with early barley for an ale.
The fibre rich pulp left from dyeing makes a very good papier mache.
Fibres, both with the skin on for cordage and retted out for fine white ones for spinning and weaving.

In flower and seed for fine fibres, salt and a different dye.
Seeds for munchies and good for fattening hens, seems to encourage egg laying.
Dried stems as fire crackle.

I have rheumatoid arthritis, usually I manage very well, but if the ache just *won't settle, if I can reach no remission, then I will deliberately sting myself quite thoroughly. It's as though the nettle stings give my immune system something tangible to fight instead of attacking my joints.
The juice from crushed leaves, at all stages of growth, acts like styptic and a poultice made from them will help pull skelfs and the like. The poultice also eases sprains and bruises.

Useful plant, isn't it?

atb,
Toddy

 

[gregorach]

I have also heard of stinging yourself with nettles to relieve hayfever, but I haven't tried it myself...