Girardinia diversifolia Seeds | Himalayan Nettle

Small, pale brown Himalayan Nettle seeds, flattened and slightly winged, on a plain background — Himalayan Nettle (*Girardinia diversifolia*): Urticaceae, native to the Himalaya and the mountains of western China.

LATIN NAME: Girardinia diversifolia

COMMON NAME: Himalayan Nettle

Plant Profile

Himalayan Nettle is a tall, robust perennial of the nettle family, growing one to three metres with stout, hollow stems and broad, deeply toothed leaves. Its stems and leaves are covered in stinging hairs that are longer and more painful than those of the common nettle, and its small, greenish flowers hang in clusters from the leaf axils.

It grows on open, moist, rich ground along the Himalayan arc, from Pakistan and Nepal through northern India to Bhutan, Yunnan and Sichuan. In Nepal it is called allo, and its fibre has been woven into cloth for longer than anyone can document. The leaves are alternate and very broad, and a single plant can cover a square metre of ground by midsummer.

Science & Biotechnology

The stinging hairs are silica-tipped cells that break on contact and inject a mixture of histamine, serotonin and acetylcholine, producing a sting that can last for hours. The same hairs make the plant difficult to handle, which is why harvesting for fibre is done with gloves and after the stems have been cut and wilted.

Its bast fibre is strong, silky and pale, and it has been used for sacking, rope, and the traditional allo cloth of Nepal, which is now a small but growing textile industry. Research on the species has concentrated on fibre quality and on the retting process rather than on its chemistry, though the sting mechanism itself has been studied as a model of plant defence.

Uses & Benefits

The fibre is the main product: the bark is stripped, retted and spun into a yarn that is woven into bags, jackets and cloth in Nepal and northern India. The plant is also used as fodder after wilting, when the sting has gone, and as a green manure.

In the garden it is a plant for a wild corner or a fibre patch, where its height and its bold leaves make a statement, but it needs to be sited away from paths and from children. It is not a plant to handle casually, and gloves are essential for any work around it.

Growing from Seed

Sow in spring on the surface of a rich, moist compost, cover lightly, and keep the tray at 18 to 22 °C. Germination is usually quick and even, and the seedlings grow fast, so pot them on before they become leggy.

Plant out in rich, moist soil in sun or light shade, and water through dry spells. The plant dies back to the ground in winter in cold climates and returns from the root in spring. Cut the stems for fibre in late summer, before the seed sets, and wear gloves and long sleeves for the whole operation.

Our Take

A giant Himalayan nettle grown for its fibre, which becomes the allo cloth of Nepal. It is beautiful in a wild corner and painful to touch, so give it space and respect.

Herb Seeds