Stinging nettle
Urtica dioica subsp. dioica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Urticaceae Genus: Urtica Species: U. dioica
Binomial name
Urtica dioica L.

The stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is a herbaceous flowering plant, also known in the United States as "7-minute-itch", native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and North America, and is the best known member of the nettle genus Urtica. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1474x1200, 911 KB) Summary by Uwe H. Friese, Bremerhaven 2003 Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Stinging nettle ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... For other uses, see Plant (disambiguation). ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of land plants. ... Magnoliopsida is the botanical name for a class: this name is formed by replacing the termination -aceae in the name Magnoliaceae by the termination -opsida (Art 16 of the ICBN). ... Families Barbeyaceae Cannabaceae (hemp family) Dirachmaceae Elaeagnaceae Moraceae (mulberry family) Rosaceae (rose family) Rhamnaceae (buckthorn family) Ulmaceae (elm family) Urticaceae (nettle family) For the Philippine municipality, see Rosales, Pangasinan. ... Genera See text Urticaceae, or the nettle family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Rosales. ... Species See text Nettles are members of the genus Urtica in the family Urticaceae. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Carl Linnaeus, Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as  , (May 23, 1707[1] – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[2] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... This article is about the plants used in cooking and medicine. ... Classes Magnoliopsida - Dicots Liliopsida - Monocots The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of land plants. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... North America North America is a continent[1] in the Earths northern hemisphere and (chiefly) western hemisphere. ... Species See text. ... Species See text Nettles are members of the genus Urtica in the family Urticaceae. ...

The taxonomy of stinging nettles in the genus Urtica has been confused, and older sources are likely to use a variety of systematic names for these plants. Formerly, more species were recognised than are now accepted. However, there are at least five clear subspecies, some formerly classified as separate species: Look up taxonomy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the zoological term. ...

• U. dioica subsp. dioica (European stinging nettle). Europe, Asia, northern Africa.
• U. dioica subsp. afghanica. Southwestern and central Asia. (Gazaneh in Iran)
• U. dioica subsp. gansuensis. Eastern Asia (China).
• U. dioica subsp. gracilis (Ait.) Selander (American stinging nettle). North America.
• U. dioica subsp. holosericea (Nutt.) Thorne (hairy nettle). North America.

Other species names formerly accepted as distinct by some authors but now regarded as synonyms of U. dioica include U. breweri, U. californica, U. cardiophylla, U. lyalli, U. major, U. procera, U. serra, U. strigosissima, U. trachycarpa, and U. viridis. Other vernacular names include tall nettle, slender nettle, California nettle, jaggy nettle, burning weed, and bull nettle (a name shared by Cnidoscolus texanus and Solanum carolinense). In scientific classification, synonymy is the existence of multiple systematic names to label the same organism. ... Binomial name Solanum carolinense L. Carolina horsenettle (Solanum carolinense), also known as Bull nettle and Apple of Sodom is not a true nettle, but a member of the Solanaceae, or nightshade family. ...

A young European stinging nettle.

Stinging nettles are a herbaceous perennial, growing to 1-2 m tall in the summer and dying down to the ground in winter. It has very distinctively yellow, widely spreading roots. The soft green leaves are 3-15 cm long, with a strongly serrated margin, a cordate base and an acuminate tip. European stinging nettle. ... European stinging nettle. ... This article is about the plants used in cooking and medicine. ... Red Valerian, a perennial plant. ... ‹ The template below (Unit of length) is being considered for deletion. ... Look up foliage in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A centimetre (American spelling centimeter, symbol cm) is a unit of length that is equal to one hundredth of a metre, the current SI base unit of length. ...

D. urticaria: close-up of the defensive hairs

Stinging nettles are abundant in northern Europe and much of Asia, usually found in the countryside. It is less gregarious in southern Europe and north Africa, where it is restricted by its need for moist soil. In North America it is widely distributed in Canada and the United States, where it is found in every province and state except for Hawaii and also can be found in northernmost Mexico. In North America the stinging nettle is far less common than in northern Europe. The European subspecies has been introduced into North America as well as South America. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 685 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (800 × 700 pixel, file size: 89 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Description: Urtica dioica Source: self-made Date: created 04. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 685 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (800 × 700 pixel, file size: 89 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Description: Urtica dioica Source: self-made Date: created 04. ... Official language(s) English, Hawaiian Capital Honolulu Largest city Honolulu Area  Ranked 43rd  - Total 10,931 sq mi (29,311 km²)  - Width n/a miles (n/a km)  - Length 1,522 miles (2,450 km)  - % water 41. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ...

In the UK stinging nettles have a strong association with human habitation and buildings. The presence of nettles may indicate that a building has been long abandoned. Human and animal waste may be responsible for elevated levels of phosphate and nitrogen in the soil, providing an ideal environment for stinging nettles. This seems particularly evident in Scotland where the sites of crofts razed to the ground during the Highland Clearances can still be identified. Above is a ball-and-stick model of the inorganic hydrogenphosphate anion (HPO42−). Colour coding: P (orange); O (red); H (white). ... General Name, symbol, number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, period, block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... This article is about the country. ... The Shetland Crofthouse Museum, with peat stacked out front. ... The Highland Clearances (Scottish Gaelic: Fuadaich nan Gàidheal, the expulsion of the Gael) is a name given to the forced displacement of the population of the Scottish Highlands from their ancient ways of warrior clan subsistence farming, leading to mass emigration. ...

Stinging mechanism

The defensive hairs (the needles) on the stinging nettle are very sharp, but also very frail. When they've penetrated the skin, they break, and a toxin is injected. Fortunately, this toxin is harmless, but it burns very much when the sting is received, and will itch equally much afterwards.

Uses

Detail of flowering stinging nettle.

Stinging nettle has many uses. It is used by many different cultures for a wide variety of purposes in herbal medicine and is known to have been used as far back as ancient Greece. Cooking, crushing or chopping disables the stinging hairs. Stinging nettle leaves are high in nutrients, and the leaves can be mixed with other ingredients to create a soup rich in calcium and iron.^[1] Nettle soup was a good source of nutrients for people who lacked meat or fruit in their diets, and still is.^[2] The young leaves are edible and make a very good pot-herb. The leaves are also dried and may be then be used to make a tisane, as can also be done with the nettle's flowers. Because stinging nettle usually grows at nitrogen-rich places, it often contains high concentrations of nitrate which can be converted in the digestive tract to carcinogenic nitrosamines and should therefore not be used for baby food. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 975 KB) Urtica dioica, near Bruges, Belgium File links The following pages link to this file: Nettle Stinging nettle Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x1600, 975 KB) Urtica dioica, near Bruges, Belgium File links The following pages link to this file: Nettle Stinging nettle Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. ... The term Herbalism refers to folk and traditional medicinal practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. ... Ancient Greece is a period in Greek history that lasted for around nine hundred years. ... General Name, Symbol, Number calcium, Ca, 20 Chemical series alkaline earth metals Group, Period, Block 2, 4, s Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight 40. ... For other uses, see Iron (disambiguation). ... Fresh Swiss chard Fresh water spinach Creamed spinach Steamed kale Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. ... Herbal tea A tisane, ptisan or herbal tea is any herbal infusion other than from the leaves of the tea bush (Camellia sinensis). ... General Name, symbol, number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, period, block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless gas Standard atomic weight 14. ... Trinitrate redirects here. ... For the Physics term GUT, please refer to Grand unification theory The gastrointestinal or digestive tract, also referred to as the GI tract or the alimentary canal or the gut, is the system of organs within multicellular animals which takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and... The hazard symbol for carcinogenic chemicals in the Globally Harmonized System. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Nettle stems contain a bast fibre which has been traditionally used for the same purposes as linen, and is produced by a similar retting process. Bast fibre (fiber) or skin fibre is fibre collected from the Phloem (the inner bark or the skin) or bast surrounding the stem of a certain mainly dicotyledonic plant. ... Torn linen cloth, recovered from the Dead Sea Linen is a material made from the fibers of the flax plant. ... Retting Retting, n. ...

Anti-itch treatment

If stung by a nettle effective anti-itch drugs are available, usually in the form of cremes containing antihistaminics or hydrocortisone. Many folk remedies exist for treating the itching, but most of them are ineffective or provide only a short relief simply by mechanical stimulation similar to scratching or by cooling: Antipruritic is a drug which reduces pruritis, or itching. ... Cream is a dairy product that is composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of raw milk before homogenization. ... An antihistamine is a drug which serves to reduce or eliminate effects mediated by histamine, an endogenous chemical mediator released during allergic reactions, through action at the histamine receptor. ... Hydrocortisone is a synthetic corticosteroid drug which may be given by injection or by topical application. ... A home remedy is a treatment or cure for a disease or other ailment that employs certain foods or other common household items. ... Scratching is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce sounds for some types of music. ...

• Juice from the crushed leaf of dock (Rumex spp.), which commonly grows in association with nettles, rubbed into the area
• Juice from both species of Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis and Impatiens pallida), rubbed into the area
• Rubbing the underside of a fern leaf (which contains its spore pods or sori) on the afflicted area.
• Immediately rubbing mud on the affected area and allowing it to dry before brushing it clean.
• Quickly washing the affected area.
• Applying ice can help relieve itchiness.
• Moistening the irritated area with saliva.
• Smearing the infected area with a paste of Baking Soda and water, then rinsing after a few minutes. This is thought to neutralize the small amounts ^[3] of formic acid released by the tiny, hollow hairs.

Species About 200, see text. ... Species See text. ... Impatiens capensis, the common jewelweed, is an annual plant native to North America. ... Binomial name Nutt. ... Classes Psilotopsida Equisetopsida Marattiopsida Pteridopsida (Polypodiopsida) this dnt make sense A fern is any one of a group of about 20,000 species of plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta. ... The underside of a fertile frond of Dicksonia antarctica. ... Formic acid (systematically called methanoic acid) is the simplest carboxylic acid. ...

Influence on language and culture

Urtica dioica from Thomé, Flora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz 1885.

In Great Britain the stinging nettle is the only common stinging plant, and has found a place in several figures of speech in the English language. To "nettle" someone is to annoy them. Shakespeare's Hotspur urges that "out of this nettle, danger, we grasp this flower, safety" (Henry IV, part 1, Act II Scene 3). The common figure of speech "to grasp the nettle" probably originated as a condensation of this quotation. It means to face up to or take on a problem that has been ignored or deferred. The metaphor refers to the fact that if a nettle leaf is grasped firmly rather than brushed against, it does not sting so readily, because the hairs are crushed down flat and do not penetrate the skin so easily. However the sting of nettles has been recommended to relieve the pain of rheumatism as the effects of the sting can last up to twelve hours. The stinging feeling becomes a warm feeling on the area treated so helping the pain of the rheumatism to subside. Download high resolution version (1468x2360, 1019 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1468x2360, 1019 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... A figure of speech, sometimes termed a rhetoric, or elocution, is a word or phrase that departs from straightforward, literal language. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Henry Percy was the name of several nobles in the line that produced the earls of Northumberland. ... Title page of the first quarto (1598) Henry IV, Part 1 is a history play by William Shakespeare. ... This article is about metaphor in literature and rhetoric. ... Rheumatism or Rheumatic disorder is a non-specific term for medical problems affecting the heart, bones, joints, kidney, skin and lung. ...

References

Sources

• Elliott, C. (1997). Rash Encounters. Horticulture 94: 30.
• Schofield, Janice J. (1998). Nettles ISBN 0-585-10500-6
• Thiselton-Dyer, T. F., (1889). The Folk-Lore of Plants.
• Glawe, G. A. (2006). Sex ratio variation and sex determination in Urtica diocia. ISBN 90-6464-026-2

See also

Nettles (folklore) describing folkloric usage, including that by the yogi Milarepa. Nettle, both stinging and non-stinging (sometimes called dead-nettles), have many folklore traditions associated with them. ... Jetsun Milarepa (Wylie: Rje-btsun Mi-la-ras-pa), 1052-1135 (approx) was one of one of Tibets most famous yogis and poets, a student of Marpa Lotsawa, and a major figure in the history of the Kagyu (Bka-brgyud) school of Tibetan Buddhism. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Stinging nettle

• Plants for a Future database entry for Urtica dioica; comprehensive account with a long list of uses
• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Urtica dioica
• Flora of China: Urtica dioica