Nettle seed

LATIN NAME: Urtica dioica

COMMON NAME: Stinging Nettle

The stinging nettle raises its small, greenish, wind-pollinated flowers in the slender clusters along the upright stems, and the whole plant stands in the tall, leafy stands. The upright, branching, perennial herb carries the opposite, oval, sharply toothed, dark-green leaves with the stinging hairs and the small, greenish, wind-pollinated flowers in the slender, branching clusters through the summer, one of the fine, quiet sights of the wild patch, to be followed by the small, brown seeds. The young shoots and the fibres have a very long record in the old kitchens and the old workshops of the cool lands, and the plant is a fine, historic presence of the wild patch. It is a plant of the open, sunny, deep, moist, rich, well-drained ground.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The stinging nettle is a historic subject of the plant science, and the slender clusters keep showing up in the work on the wild perennials. The way the small, greenish, wind-pollinated flowers form in the slender, branching clusters along the upright stems has been studied closely, and it keeps appearing in the studies of the wild perennials, the stinging hairs and the members of the nettle family. The toothed leaves and the tall habit have also made it a fine study plant, and the stinging nettle is a regular subject of the work on the slender clusters of the cool world.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

The stinging nettle is a fine, quiet plant of the wild patch and the study collection. The opposite, oval, sharply toothed, dark-green leaves with the stinging hairs stand in the tall, leafy stands, one of the fine, quiet sights of the wild patch, and the young shoots have a very long record in the old kitchens and the old workshops of the cool lands, the young shoots coming to the pots and the teas of the old tables, while the strong fibres came to the cloths and the cords of the old workshops, the small, greenish, wind-pollinated flowers following in the slender clusters. It is one of the fine choices for the wild patch, the study collection and the fibre patch, and it has been written up in the botanical and the agricultural papers for the fibres and the very long record. It is a fine, quiet plant of the open, sunny, deep, moist, rich, well-drained garden.

Give the young plants the deep, rich, moist bed, and the leafy stands will rise through the summer.

To grow the stinging nettle from seed, sow the small, brown seeds just below the surface of the deep tray of sandy soil, keep the tray in a bright, open spot and water gently, then set the young plants out in the open ground. The seedlings come through within a couple of weeks and grow on fast. With the sun and the deep, moist, rich, well-drained ground, the leafy stands will rise through the summer.

Stinging Nettle is a perennial that is not easily forgotten by anyone who has come across its path. As the name suggests, it inflicts an itchy sting when brushed against. The stems of the plant are covered with tiny hairs, many of them capable of injecting a chemical mixture of serotonin, acetylcholine and formic acid. It also releases histamine, which explains the itchy side effect. Most would consider the sting tolerable, although possibly quite a nuisance if inflicted unexpectedly. To some, it may even be considered a sort of novelty entertainment.