There are thirty types of nettles worldwide and there are two types found in the U.S., stinging nettle and California nettle. The stinging nettle plant plays a role in traditional Native American herbal medicine as well as in ceremonies. In the Pacific Northwest, for example, men rubbed nettles on their bodies in fishing, whaling, and seal hunting rituals. Stinging nettles sometimes appear in Native American legends as comic relief, where a trickster ends up tumbling into nettles. Stinging nettle is often associated with the coyote, and they have a long history as a source for traditional medicine, food, tea, and even textiles.
About Stinging Nettles
Urtica dioica is also known as stinging nettle or common nettle. It is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant that was originally native to Europe but is now found all over the world. Stinging nettle grows to the height of three feet. Its dull green stem and leaves are covered with stinging hairs that pierce the skin and emit an acrid fluid that causes pain when touched. The stinging hairs are called trichomes that act like hypodermic needles that inject histamine, acetylcholine, serotonin, and formic acid that produce a stinging sensation on contact. The leaves are slightly heart-shaped and have a strongly serrated margin. They bear tiny greenish - yellow-colored flowers that can usually be seen June - September before forming seeds. This plant spreads by rhizomes as well as by seed. Given moist rich soil it thrives in sunny meadows, near woodland brooks and marshes, and along roadside ditches.
Medicinal Uses of Stinging Nettle
The Cherokee and Lakota make an infusion of the roots of the stinging nettle plant and take this for stomach pain. Many Native communities use stinging nettle for its analgesic properties. The Hesquiat rub nettles on their body for aches and pains and a poultice of steamed leaves and roots are used to treat arthritic legs and ankles. The Kwakiutl rub the plant on the skin for chest pain and used the fiber from the plant to treat headaches. The juice of the plant was rubbed onto the head to prevent hair loss by the Thompson and Kwakiutl. The Nitinaht whip their body with this plant to relieve arthritis, and the Okanagan-Colville beat their skin with fresh plants after emerging from a sweathouse to treat arthritis. The Shuswap make a decoction of stems and roots and use this liquid in a sweat bath to relieve aches and pains. The Woodland Cree make a decoction of this plant to keep blood from flowing after childbirth and the Kwakiutl give an infusion of this plant to women to induce labor. Many communities enjoy drinking a tonic of fresh spring leaves to purify the blood. In sweat lodges, several tribes burned stinging nettle leaves to treat the flu.
The Lakota rub the leaves on a fishing line to give the line a green color. It is also used as a medicine for good fishing. The Iroquois made a compound of this plant and snake blood and used it as a witchcraft medicine. In the Kawaiisu tribe, stinging nettles were combined with other herbs and considered to be a source of dream power. A person that wanted a medicine vision would walk through nettle plants so that the stings would prepare him or her for the dreams. Many Native Americans including the Winnebago, Omaha, Menominee, and Subarctic people wove nettle clothing. Several communities used nettle to make fishing nets.
Did You Know...
Soaking the stinging nettles in water or cooking them removes the stinging chemicals from the plant which allows them to be eaten and handled without a sting.
The Scots and Irish use young leaves for greens and the French prepare several different dishes from the tops of this plant.
Nettles have evolved stings to prevent them from being eaten by animals.
Nettle was used in folk veterinary medicine in Spain, Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. It was administered to chickens and turkeys to stimulate growth.
It is used to stimulate farmed fish immunity on some intensive fish farms.
Nettles can be harvested for eating at any time except when flowering or seeding.
The most common European use of nettles is to pound the stalks of nettle to extract fibers that can be used to make textiles.
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