Urtica urens L.
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Urtica urens L.
Urticaceae (Nettle Family)EuropeDwarf Nettle |
March Photo
Plant Characteristics:
Erect annual, simple or branched from the base, glabrous except for the
stinging hairs, 1-5 dm. high; lvs. ovate, glabrous, coarsely laciniate-serrate,
the blades 1.5-3 cm. long; petioles 1-2 cm. long; stipules 1 mm. long; fl.
clusters scarcely 1 cm. long, staminate and pistillate fls. mixed in the same
cluster; calyx almost 2 mm. long; ak. ca. 2 mm. long, +/- yellow, deltate.
Habitat: Garden and orchard weed;
natur. from Europe. January-April.
Name:
The ancient Latin name from urere, to burn.
(Munz, Flora So. Calif. 847).
Latin, urens, stinging. (Jaeger
276).
General:
Occasional in the study area. Common
on the Castaways Bluffs, photographed there. On the bluff below Eastbluff North,
this plant has become very common, covering large areas. (my comments).
Supposed to be tasteful, cooking removes the formic acid in the sting.
Best steamed or boiled. (Clarke
161). The nettle has many valuable
characteristics. In Scotland and in
parts of Europe the nettle was treated much like flax, the fibers making a cloth
similar to linen. In World War I,
with cotton imports cut off, the Germans utilized nettles for weaving.
It is notable, that the poisonous property of the hair disappears with
either cooking or drying. (Coon 217).
Nettle poison is the same as the poison in ant stings. As the plant wilts, the poison is reduced and the sting is
not so powerful. The Indians, who
would rot away the pulp by burying the plant in wet areas, used the fibers.
(lecture by Charlotte Clarke, author of Useful and Edible Plants of
California, April 1987).
If you have been stung by a nettle, Urtica spp., you can cure it
by rubbing the nettle's own root on the sting.
We tried it, and there is some truth to the old belief.
Although the sting remained for a short time it faded very rapidly.
(Fielder 48).
Urtica species have been known to cause hay fever and asthma in
man. (Fuller 381). The seeds of Urtica spp.,
because of the oils and traces of formic acid, make a good scalp conditioner and
growth stimulant to the hair. One
teaspoon is soaked in a cup of hot water until lukewarm, the teas used as a
final rinse after shampooing. The
fresh leaves can be boiled in a slightly larger volume of salted water for ten
minutes and the tea used to curdle milk in the making of cheese.
(Moore, Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West 114).
Text Ref:
Abrams, Vol. I 525; Hickman, Ed. 1083; Munz, Flora So. Calif. 847;
Robbins et al. 128.
Photo Ref:
Mar 1 85 # 19,20.
Identity: by F. Roberts.
First found: March 1985.
Computer Ref: Plant Data 292.
Have plant specimen.
Last edit 10/14/04.
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March Photo