Stinging Nettles

So what are stinging nettles?

The Urtica Dioica, or more commonly known as stinging nettles is a perennial flowering plant that grows like a weed across many areas of the world. It is native across all of Europe, Asia, North America and the northern part of Africa, though it has been introduced across various other areas of the world.

Although it is looked upon as a sort of pest plant, the nettle actually has numerous uses and was wildly used in the past for everything from food to medicine. It can also be turned into a type of relatively strong cord by drying and twisting the fibres of the main stem, and has been used as a medicine and even to make tea and beer by past societies.

The stems and leaves of stinging nettles are covered in tiny hollow hairs that are incredibly sharp and act as tiny needles. When touched with enough force, which is normally done by simply brushing past them, the hairs will pierce the skin and inject folic acid as well as a number of other chemicals, such as histamine and serotonin as well as various others.

Today though since making your own products from gathered plants is something mostly forgotten and now only exists mostly as a niche hobby, many of these methods have almost been forgotten, but fortunately your friendly bushcraft buddy is going to tell you how to make them.

Where to find Stinging Nettles?

If you are in one of the areas of the world where these plants are native, you will have undoubtedly seen them all over the place.

They tend to grow pretty much everywhere that weeds can grow, with most people not having to look much further than their own garden or the nearest park. If you want them in large quantities or you want the older, larger ones which are best for making cord, then head to the nearest woodland or along the hedge of a field somewhere and your almost guaranteed to find as many as you can carry.

Gathering Stinging Nettles

The only problem with gathering nettles is the obvious one, they sting. The needles on the leaves and stem are rather small though, and they also aren’t particularly strong which means if you have a decent jacket on and a good strong pair of gloves you’ll be fine.

Snap them off at the bottom of the stem or even pull them right out the ground and remove the root if you want the stem whole for making cord, or if you just want the leaves you can grip the bottom of the stem and run your hand upwards pulling off all the leaves.

Cooking Nettles

You should only cook the leaves if you are going to eat nettles, the stems wont do you any harm if you cook them properly, but are very fibrous and not pleasant to eat, as well as that the vast majority of goodness in the plant is contained within the leaves.

To cook the leaves into a dish you should treat them the exact same way as spinach. They cook rather fast since they are so thin, but you do have to cook them in some way to neutralise the stings. Boiling, steaming, baking or any other kind of heating will work nicely, and they can be surprisingly tasty.

Cooking nettles the bush craft way

If your in the wild and fancy a snack then nettles are by far the fastest cooking thing out there. Simply get a small fire going and hold the nettle by the bottom of the stem and gently wave it through the flames. The stinging needles on the leaves are so small that they burn away instantly upon contact with flame, and after 2 or 3 waves through the fire the leaves will be safe to touch and more importantly, eat.

What to do if you get stung

The best way to treat a sting is by using some sort of special sting or burn cream to sooth the itching sensation, though this isn’t always an option if your out in the wild. In the UK its quite a commonly known treatment to rub a dock leaf on the effected area, as the sap from the leaf can produce a cooling effect and ease the itch, though they normally don’t grow close to each other and like with everything else, there’s never one around when you need one.

If you don’t have any kind of aid to apply to the affected area, then gently rubbing it with something smooth can help to ease the itching, though be careful not to scratch the small bumps that form as this can irritate the skin and cause them them hurt more.

Also anything cool can help, and if you are near water rinsing the area while gently brushing can help a great deal with the pain, but be very careful when first touching the bumps not to push the needle in further, which can be avoided by using a brushing motion with your sleeve over the bump.

How long does a sting last

Normally after you get stung the pain will start almost straight away, and you will normally notice the initial feeling of the needle. The swelling will form in a small bump within a few minutes and normally only last for no more than a couple of hours, though the pain can disappear much quicker. All signs of a sting should disappear within 24 hours though the body can normally get rid of the chemicals that cause any pain much faster than that, leaving you with a small bump that you can only feel if you touch it.

There are a number of claims on the Internet which state that the pain can last for up to a year if the needle isn’t removed, and also claims of how they have killed dogs and horses and driven people mad with the pain, but these aren’t true. If you had a particularly rare reaction to them and decided to get naked and swim around in patch of them then you may have to seek medical attention for some strong burn cream, but as for dying from them you don’t have to worry at all. I have personally been stung more times than i can remember and normally don’t give it more treatment than the occasional rub every couple of minutes.

Other uses of Stinging Nettles

The fibres of the main stem can be dried and twisted into a strong cord, though this can take a long time to make. The leaves can be used as an ingredient to make make beer or tea and has also been used in the past to make medicine, which is claimed to be a remedy for various ailments, including hay fever.

Stinging Nettle nutritional information:

For every 100 grams of cooked nettle leaves:

Fat – 0.1g
Sodium – 4mg
Potassium – 334mg
Carbohydrate – 7g
Protein – 2.7g

% of daily recommended intake

Vitamin A – 40%
Iron – 8%
Magnesium – 14%
Calcium – 48%