The "Likeable" Side of Stinging Nettle

 

Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)

(Photo Source)

WHAT? I can hear all the maintainers (especially on the 'west side', Sections 10 & 11) who have ever found themselves knee deep in the stuff, wondering exactly what is so "likeable" about stinging nettle! It seems that stinging nettle has many uses, other than being the bane of existence for hikers and trail maintainers. One of my very favorite wildflower books, Hedgemaids and Fairy Candles: The Lives and Lore of North American Wildflowers, lists some of the following uses for stinging nettle:

• Cloth, paper, twine - stalks of old nettle are as good as flax for making cloth that some consider more durable than linen.
• Eating - the young shoots and leaves are used (nettle pudding, a traditional dish in Scotland; nettle porridge; herb wine)
• Medicinal - astringent, diuretic, to encourage milk production in mothers, a tea for rheumatism, and the stinging properties are used for urtication.

To see/hear an enthusiastic and spirited discussion of stinging nettle, you may want to watch the video below .... it rambles a little, but in general, the information is interesting and probably will give you a new "appreciation" for nettle when you encounter it on the trail, either while hiking or weed-whipping.:

What to do if you end up in a patch of the stuff and get "stung"? I've been stung through nylon hiking pants before so older, tall nettle can be pretty nasty. The 'hairs' on the plant contain formic acid in its natural state (the same substance found in the sting/bite of fire ants!) and that is what causes the burning, stinging, itching sensation. If you are around jewel weed, which tends to thrive in the same conditions that favor stinging nettle, you can break off a stalk and rub the juice on the affected area. Here's a picture of a jewel weed in bloom - the plants look similar, but the edges of the leaves on stinging nettle are 'sharper', while jewel weed is more rounded:

 

Spotted Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis)

(Photo: Merlot)

Cold water doesn't help (tried it) and you probably won't have much else with you unless you have alcohol, which is also supposed to help. Last, but not least, the juice of the stinging nettle is its own antidote - a remedy I've not tried because when I'm dealing with a nettle sting, the last thing I want to do is risk getting stung again. Time, about 10 minutes, is what it takes for the stinging/burning sensation to go away.

When you're out on the trail, wading through stinging nettle (hopefully not on one of our trail sections!) or weed-whipping the stuff into oblivion, you might also want to recall this lovely little poem by A.E. Houseman, which proves the point that poets will write about pretty much anything, even the nasty likeable stinging nettle!

The Stinging Nettle

The stinging nettle only

Will still be found to stand:

The numberless, the lonely,

The thronger of the land,

The leaf that hurts the hand.

That thrives, come sun, come showers;

Blow east, blow west, it springs;

It peoples towns, and towers,

Above the courts of Kings,

And touch it and it stings.

By the way, if you are weed whipping trail with stinging nettle on it, you will find that hikers coming through are probably the most thankful, appreciative hikers you will ever run into .... and yes, their "thank yous" do make all the work and dealing with stinging nettle worth while. It's what trail maintaining is all about.