Urtica dioica

"Stinging nettle" redirects here, see also Urtica incisa
For other plants that sting, see Stinging plant#Plants with stinging hairs.
Urtica dioica
Urtica dioica subsp. dioica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Urticaceae
Genus: Urtica
Species: U. dioica
Binomial name
Urtica dioica
L.

Urtica dioica, often called common nettle or stinging nettle (although not all plants of this species sting), is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant, native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and North America, and is the best-known member of the nettle genus Urtica. The species is divided into six subspecies, five of which have many hollow stinging hairs called trichomes on the leaves and stems, which act like hypodermic needles, injecting histamine and other chemicals that produce a stinging sensation when contacted by humans and other animals.[1] The plant has a long history of use as a medicine, as a food source and as a source of fibre.

Description

Urtica dioica from Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885.

Urtica dioica is a dioecious herbaceous perennial, 1 to 2 m (3 to 7 ft) tall in the summer and dying down to the ground in winter. It has widely spreading rhizomes and stolons, which are bright yellow, as are the roots. The soft green leaves are 3 to 15 cm (1 to 6 in) long and are borne oppositely on an erect wiry green stem. The leaves have a strongly serrated margin, a cordate base and an acuminate tip with a terminal leaf tooth longer than adjacent laterals. It bears small greenish or brownish numerous flowers in dense axillary inflorescences. The leaves and stems are very hairy with non-stinging hairs and in most subspecies also bear many stinging hairs (trichomes), whose tips come off when touched, transforming the hair into a needle that will inject several chemicals: acetylcholine, histamine, 5-HT (serotonin), moroidin,[2] leukotrienes,[2] and possibly formic acid.[3][4] This mixture of chemical compounds cause a painful sting or paresthesia from which the species derives one of its common names, stinging nettle, as well as the colloquial names burn nettle, burn weed, and burn hazel.[5]

Stinging nettle plants

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of Urtica species has been confused, and older sources are likely to use a variety of systematic names for these plants. Formerly, more species were recognised than are now accepted. However, there are at least six clear subspecies of U. dioica, some formerly classified as separate species:

Other species names formerly accepted as distinct by some authors but now regarded as synonyms of one or other subspecies include U. breweri, U. californica, U. cardiophylla, U. lyalli, U. major, U. procera, U. serra, U. strigosissima, U. trachycarpa, and U. viridis.

Distribution

Urtica dioca is abundant in northern Europe and much of Asia, usually found in the countryside. It is less widespread in southern Europe and north Africa, where it is restricted by its need for moist soil but still common to find. In North America it is widely distributed in Canada and the United States, where it is found in every province and state except for Hawaii and also can be found in northernmost Mexico. It grows in abundance in the Pacific Northwest, especially in places where annual rainfall is high. The European subspecies has been introduced into North America as well as South America.[8][9]

In Europe nettles have a strong association with human habitation and buildings. The presence of nettles may indicate the site of a long-abandoned building. Human and animal waste may be responsible for elevated levels of phosphate[10] and nitrogen in the soil, providing an ideal environment for nettles.

Ecology

A stinging nettle growing in a field

Nettles are the exclusive larval food plant for several species of butterfly, such as the Peacock Butterfly[11] or the Small Tortoiseshell, and are also eaten by the larvae of some moths including Angle Shades, Buff Ermine, Dot Moth, The Flame, The Gothic, Grey Chi, Grey Pug, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Mouse Moth, Setaceous Hebrew Character and Small Angle Shades. The roots are sometimes eaten by the larva of the Ghost Moth Hepialus humuli.

Stinging nettle is particularly found as an understory plant in wetter environments, but it is also found in meadows. Although nutritious, it is not widely eaten by either wildlife or livestock, presumably because of the sting. It spreads by abundant seeds and also via rhizomes, and is often able to survive/reestablish quickly after fire.[12]

Medicinal uses

Nettle leaf is a herb that has a long tradition of use as an adjuvant remedy in the treatment of arthritis in Germany. Nettle leaf extract contains active compounds that reduce TNF-α and other inflammatory cytokines.[13][14] It has been demonstrated that nettle leaf lowers TNF-α levels by potently inhibiting the genetic transcription factor that activates TNF-α and IL-1B in the synovial tissue that lines the joint.[15]

Urtica dioica herb has been used in the traditional Austrian medicine internally (as tea or fresh leaves) for treatment of disorders of the kidneys and urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract, locomotor system, skin, cardio-vascular system, hemorrhage, flu, rheumatism and gout.[16]

Nettle is used in shampoo to control dandruff and is said to make hair more glossy, which is why some farmers include a handful of nettles with cattle feed.[17]

Nettle root extracts have been extensively studied in human clinical trials as a treatment for symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). These extracts have been shown to help relieve symptoms compared to placebo both by themselves [18] and when combined with other herbal medicines.[19]

Because it contains 3,4-divanillyltetrahydrofuran, certain extracts of the nettle are used by bodybuilders in an effort to increase free testosterone by occupying sex-hormone binding globulin.[20]

As Old English stiðe, nettle is one of the nine plants invoked in the pagan Anglo-Saxon Nine Herbs Charm, recorded in the 10th century. Nettle is believed to be a galactagogue, a substance that promotes lactation.[21]

Urtication, or flogging with nettles, is the process of deliberately applying stinging nettles to the skin in order to provoke inflammation. An agent thus used is known as a rubefacient (something that causes redness). This is done as a folk remedy for rheumatism, providing temporary relief from pain.[22] The counter-irritant action to which this is often attributed can be preserved by the preparation of an alcoholic tincture which can be applied as part of a topical preparation (but not as an infusion) which drastically reduces the irritant action.

Extracts of Urtica dioica leaves may help with glycemic control in type 2 diabetes patients needing to use insulin.[23]

Nettle sting treatment

D. urticaria: close-up of the defensive hairs
A hand with a large sting, with visible bumps on the skin.

Anti-itch drugs, usually in the form of creams containing antihistaminics or hydrocortisone may provide relief from the symptoms of being stung by nettles.[24] But because of the combination of chemicals involved, other remedies may be required. Calamine lotion may be helpful, also urine - which has the advantage of usually being readily available. Many folk remedies exist for treating the itching, including Dandelion, horsetail (Equisetopsida spp.), leaf of dock (Rumex spp.), Greater Plantain, Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis and Impatiens pallida), the underside of a fern (the spores), mud, saliva, or baking soda, oil and onions, lemon juice, and topical use of milk of magnesia.[24]

Influence on language and culture

In Great Britain and Ireland the stinging nettle (U. dioica subsp. dioica) is the only common stinging plant and has found a place in several figures of speech in the English language. Shakespeare's Hotspur urges that "out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety" (Henry IV, part 1, Act II Scene 3). The figure of speech "to grasp the nettle" probably originated from Aesop's fable "The Boy and the Nettle".[25] In Sean O'Casey's Juno and the Paycock one of the characters quotes Aesop "Gently touch a nettle and it'll sting you for your pains/Grasp it as a lad of mettle and soft as silk remains". The metaphor may refer to the fact that if a nettle plant is grasped firmly rather than brushed against, it does not sting so readily, because the hairs are crushed down flat and do not penetrate the skin so easily.[26] In the German language, the idiom "sich in die Nesseln setzen", or to sit in nettles, means to get into trouble. In Hungarian, the idiom "csalánba nem üt a mennykő" (no lightning strikes the nettle) means bad things never happen to bad people. The same idiom exists in the Serbian language "неће гром у коприве". In Dutch, a "netelige situatie" means a predicament.. The name urticaria for hives comes from the Latin name of nettle (urtica, from urure, to burn).

Uses

Food

The young leaves are edible and make a very good leaf vegetable, as with the purée shown in the above image.

Urtica dioica has a flavour similar to spinach and cucumber when cooked and is rich in vitamins A, C, iron, potassium, manganese, and calcium. Young plants were harvested by Native Americans and used as a cooked plant in spring when other food plants were scarce.[27] Soaking stinging nettles in water or cooking will remove the stinging chemicals from the plant, which allows them to be handled and eaten without injury. After the stinging nettle enters its flowering and seed setting stages the leaves develop gritty particles called cystoliths, which can irritate the urinary tract.[27] In its peak season, nettle contains up to 25% protein, dry weight, which is high for a leafy green vegetable.[28] The leaves are also dried and may then be used to make a herbal tea, as can also be done with the nettle's flowers.

Nettles can be used in a variety of recipes, such as polenta, pesto and purée.[29] Nettle soup is a common use of the plant, particularly in Northern and Eastern Europe. In Nepal (सिस्नो in Nepali) and the Kumaon & Gargwal region of Northern India, stinging nettle is known as sisnu, kandeli and bicchū-būṭī (Hindi: बिच्छू-बूटी) respectively. It is also found in abundance in Kashmir. There it is called soi. It is a very popular vegetable and cooked with Indian spices.

Nettles are sometimes used in cheese making, for example in the production of Cornish Yarg[30] and as a flavouring in varieties of Gouda.[31]

Nettles are used in Albania as part of the dough filling for the börek. Its name is byrek me hithra. The top baby leaves are selected and simmered, then mixed with other ingredients like herbs, rice, etc. before being used as a filling between dough layers.[32][33]

Competitive eating

In the UK, an annual World Nettle Eating Championship draws thousands of people to Dorset, where competitors attempt to eat as much of the raw plant as possible. Competitors are given 60 cm (20 in) stalks of the plant, from which they strip the leaves and eat them. Whoever strips and eats the most stinging nettle leaves in a fixed time is the winner. The competition dates back to 1986, when two neighbouring farmers attempted to settle a dispute about which had the worst infestation of nettles.[34][35]

Drink

Nettle leaves are steeped in a concentrated sugar solution so the flavour is extracted into the sugar solution. The leaves are then removed and a source of citric acid (usually lemon juice) is added to help preserve the cordial and add a tart flavour.

Commercially produced cordials are generally quite concentrated and are usually diluted by one part cordial to ten parts water – thus a 0.5 litres (0.11 imp gal; 0.13 US gal) bottle of cordial would be enough for 5.5 litres (1.2 imp gal; 1.5 US gal) diluted. The high concentration of sugar in nettle cordial gives it a long shelf life.

There are also many recipes for alcoholic nettle beer, which is a countryside favourite in the British Isles.[36]

Textiles

Nettle stems contain a bast fibre that has been traditionally used for the same purposes as linen and is produced by a similar retting process. Unlike cotton, nettles grow easily without pesticides. The fibres are coarser however.[37]

Historically, nettles have been used to make clothing for 2,000 years, and German Army uniforms were made from nettle during World War I due to a shortage of cotton. More recently, companies in Austria, Germany and Italy have started to produce commercial nettle textiles.[38][39]

Nettles may be used as a dye-stuff, producing yellow from the roots, or yellowish green from the leaves.[40]

Cultivation

Gardening

As well as the potential for encouraging beneficial insects, nettles have a number of other uses in the vegetable garden.

The growth of nettles is an indicator that an area has high fertility (especially phosphorus and nitrate) and has been disturbed.[41][42]

Nettles contain a lot of nitrogen and so are used as a compost activator[43] or can be used to make a liquid fertiliser which although somewhat low in phosphate is useful in supplying magnesium, sulphur and iron.[44][45] They are also one of the few plants that can tolerate, and flourish in, soils rich in poultry droppings.

Recent experiments have shown that nettles are a beneficial weed, having use as a companion plant.[46]

Urtica dioica can be a troubling weed, and mowing can increase plant density.[47] Regular and persistent tilling will greatly reduce its numbers, the use of herbicides such as 2,4-D and Glyphosate, are effective control measures.[47]

Poultry farming

Nettles can be used as green forage in poultry farming, but they must first be finely-cut. It is especially beneficial to feed this food supplement to young poultry including ducklings and goslings, because nettles are rich in vitamins.

Gallery

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Per Brodal (2010). The Central Nervous System: Structure and Function. Oxford University Press US. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-19-538115-3. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nettle (Stinging). Wildflowerfinder.org.uk. Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
  3. ↑ Louis J. Casarett; Curtis D. Klaassen; John Doull (2008). Casarett and Doull's toxicology: the basic science of poisons. McGraw-Hill Professional. pp. 1104–. ISBN 978-0-07-147051-3. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  4. ↑ Michael I. Greenberg (4 June 2003). Occupational, industrial, and environmental toxicology. Elsevier Health Sciences. pp. 180–. ISBN 978-0-323-01340-6. Retrieved 22 September 2010.
  5. ↑ "Burning & Stinging Nettles". University of California. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chen Jiarui, Ib Friis, C. Melanie Wilmot-Dear. "Flora of China online". efloras, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
  7. ↑ "Plant For a Future database".
  8. ↑ "Species: Urtica dioica". United States Forest Service. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Stinging Nettle". Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ohio State University. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  10. ↑ Paul Smith (2012). Indicator Plants: Using Plants to Evaluate the Environment By Paul L. Smith. p. 47.
  11. ↑ Heiko Bellmann: Der Neue Kosmos Schmetterlingsführer, Schmetterlinge, Raupen und Futterpflanzen, pg. 170, Frankh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-440-09330-1
  12. ↑ Carey, Jennifer H. (1995). "Urtica dioica". Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
  13. ↑ Teucher, T; Obertreis, B; Ruttkowski, T; Schmitz, H (1996). "Cytokine secretion in whole blood of healthy subjects following oral administration of Urtica dioica L. Plant extract". Arzneimittel-Forschung 46 (9): 906–10. PMID 8967906.
  14. ↑ Obertreis, B; Ruttkowski, T; Teucher, T; Behnke, B; Schmitz, H (1996). "Ex-vivo in-vitro inhibition of lipopolysaccharide stimulated tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-1 beta secretion in human whole blood by extractum urticae dioicae foliorum". Arzneimittel-Forschung 46 (4): 389–94. PMID 8740085.
  15. ↑ Riehemann, K; Behnke, B; Schulze-Osthoff, K (1999). "Plant extracts from stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), an antirheumatic remedy, inhibit the proinflammatory transcription factor NF-kappaB". FEBS Letters 442 (1): 89–94. doi:10.1016/S0014-5793(98)01622-6. PMID 9923611.
  16. ↑ Vogl S, Picker P, Mihaly-Bison J, Fakhrudin N, Atanasov AG, Heiss EH, Wawrosch C, Reznicek G, Dirsch VM, Saukel J, Kopp B. Ethnopharmacological in vitro studies on Austria's folk medicine - An unexplored lore in vitro anti-inflammatory activities of 71 Austrian traditional herbal drugs. J Ethnopharmacol.2013 Jun13. doi:pii: S0378-8741(13)00410-8. 10.1016/j.jep.2013.06.007. [Epub ahead of print] PubMed PMID 23770053. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23770053
  17. ↑ Balch, Phyllis A., CNC, Balch, James F., M.D., Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Avery Press, p. 104 (2000) ISBN 1-58333-077-1
  18. ↑ Safarinejad, MR (2005). "Urtica dioica for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study" (PDF). Journal of herbal pharmacotherapy 5 (4): 1–11. doi:10.1080/J157v05n04_01. PMID 16635963.
  19. ↑ Lopatkin N, Sivkov A, Walther C, Schlafke S, Medvedev A, Avdeichuk J, Golubev G, Melnik K, Elenberger N, Engelmann U. (2005). "Long-term efficacy and safety of a combination of sabal and urtica extract for lower urinary tract symptoms—a placebo-controlled, double-blind, multicenter trial". World Journal of Urology 23 (2): 139–46. doi:10.1007/s00345-005-0501-9. PMID 15928959.
  20. ↑ Schöttner M, Gansser D, Spiteller G. (1997). "Interaction of lignans with human sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG)". Zeitschrift fur Naturforschung. C, Journal of biosciences 52 (11–12): 834–43. PMID 9463941.
  21. ↑ Westfall R.E. (2003). "Galactagogue herbs: a qualitative study and review". Canadian Journal of Midwifery Research and Practice 2 (2): 22–27.
  22. ↑ "Stinging Nettles". BBC. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  23. ↑ Kianbakht S. et al. (2013). "Improved glycemic control in patients with advanced type 2 diabetes mellitus taking Urtica dioica leaf extract: a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial". Clinical Laboratory 59 (9-10): 1071–6. PMID 24273930.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Urtica dioica (Stinging Nettles)". University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
  25. ↑ "The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Æsop For Children, by Æsop". Gutenberg.org. 2006-12-02. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  26. ↑ "Grasping the nettle: an empirical enquiry". 2010-09-05. Retrieved 2010-09-06. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Gregory L. Tilford, Edible and Medicinal Plants of the West, ISBN 0-87842-359-1
  28. ↑ Hughes, R. Elwyn; Ellery, Peter; Harry, Tim; Jenkins, Vivian; Jones, Eleri (1980). "The dietary potential of the common nettle". Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 31 (12): 1279–86. doi:10.1002/jsfa.2740311210. PMID 6259444.
  29. ↑ 1069 Recetas de Cocina (No 423). Wattpad.com (2010-05-12). Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
  30. ↑ "Lynher Dairies Nettles & Garlic". Lynherdairies.co.uk. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  31. ↑ "Gouda Cheese with Stinging Nettles: Cooking Terms". RecipeTips.com. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  32. ↑ http://www.hermesnews.org/rubriche/8192---.asp Nettles Pie (in Albanian)
  33. ↑ http://urban.al/index.php/kuzhine/item/1084-byrek-me-hithra Recipe: Nettles Pie (in Albanian)
  34. ↑ BBC Dorset report on world nettle eating championships. Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
  35. ↑ Langley, William. (2009-06-14) Daily Telegraph item about world nettle eating championships. Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-07-03.
  36. ↑ "Two more nettle beer recipes including a stronger nettle beer". Selfsufficientish.com. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  37. ↑ "Student shows off nettle knickers". BBC News. 2004-07-01. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  38. ↑ Neustatter, Angela (27 February 2008). "Rash thinking". The Guardian.
  39. ↑ Flintoff, John-Paul (20 August 2009). "Second skin: why wearing nettles is the next big thing". The Ecologist.
  40. ↑ Piers Warren, 101 uses for Stinging Nettles (2006), p. 65, ISBN 0-9541899-9-X.
  41. ↑ "Indicator Weeds and Soil Conditions at". Garden-helper.com. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  42. ↑ "virtual-herb-walk". Herbalpractitioner.com. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  43. ↑ "h2g2 – Stinging Nettles". BBC DNA. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  44. ↑ Pears, Pauline, et al. HDRA Encyclopedia Of Organic Gardening, p. 207, Dorling Kindersley Ltd, London, 2005.
  45. ↑ "Compost Teas vs Other Teas and Extracts". Ciwmb.ca.gov. Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  46. ↑ "'Stinging Nettle: Companion Plant and Medicinal Herb'". bcliving.ca. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 Wood Powell Anderson (1999). Perennial weeds: characteristics and identification of selected herbaceous species. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-0-8138-2520-5. Retrieved 17 October 2010.

References

External links

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