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Thanks to Phil Watson for another donation - an expert perspective on the benefits of stinging nettles.
Stinging nettles are known as tenacious weeds, able to live in the toughest of conditions, notoriously known for inflicting unforgettable pain. Their hanging pinkish flower clusters impart agonising stings into unsuspecting walkers or gardeners who dare exposure their bare legs, arms or hands to its armoury. Close examination of these stinging heads reveal a myriad of tiny hollow hairs with swollen bases and needle-like tips. All are filled with formic acid, which when touched, act like syringes. This weed (Urtica dioica) along with its Tassie native cousin (U. incisa), have an unexpected set of attributes which deserve recognition.
Many of the stinging nettle's attributes are common to their 500 member Nettle family, (Urticaceae) which is made up of native and exotic trees, shrubs and herbs. Prominent members include the feared, tropical Giant Stinging Trees, (Dendrocnide excelsa), the indigenous Smooth Nettle or Shade Pellitory (Parietaria debilis), the attractive indoor plant and/or tropical groundcover Aluminium or Friendship Plant (Pilea sp.) and the toughest and silkiest of all natural fibre producers, China Grass (Boehmeria nivea).
Both the native and exotic stinging nettle is very nutritious, provided their stings are neutralised by cooking or drying. A delicious vivid green, cream-of-nettle soup can be made using their tender, young shoots spiced with a touch of lemon. A superb nettle tea, wine or beer can be brewed from infused extracts of the young leaves. Due to their high Vitamin A, C and iron content, quenching nettle drinks act as a health tonic. Herbalists report that nettle tea can improve blood coagulation and haemoglobin formation. The roots of the nettles contain 'Phytosterols' which can be extracted to synthesis steroidal drugs. It is used for inhibiting the growth of tumours and regulating blood cholesterol.
Rich moist soils, preferably fertilised with chicken manure, allow gardeners to grow crops of lush nettles, whilst the best native nettles can be found thriving in damp, shady forests. In the native and vegetable gardens, they act as companion plants and provide nutritious supplements for the compost heap. A nitrogen-rich foliar feed can be brewed by soaking them in a bucket.
Urtification is the process of deliberately stinging the skin with nettles. Roman soldiers, chilled by the cold, often rubbed their feet and hands with nettles to bring back their circulation, whilst convicts were punished by lashing large nettle bushes across the bare backs. Urtification has been used successfully for treating rheumatism and arthritis by tricking the nervous system into overlooking the deeper pain.
Nettles are the pretty Australian Admiral Butterfly larva's food plant. These larva carry a row of spiny hairs down their backs. They construct, prior to pupating, protective tents, from silk spun around leaves. Larva pupates into powerful, darting butterflies which are strongly attracted to colourful Buddleia sp. flowers. Being well camouflaged at rest, they happily bask on sunlit garden walls in the summer.
Nettle can yield excellent silky fibre, traditionally used to make fishing nets, rope, paper and cloth. The fibres were considered superior to cotton when making velvet and a more durable type of linen. Cloth was often coloured with the yellow dye that could be extracted from their roots.
Aside from the Stinging nettle, the native Small Shade Nettle (Australina pusilla), found in damp cool forests, are attractive, non-stinging nettles ideal for growing with ferns. Along with the native Shade Pellitory, both produce tasty spinach-like leaves.
The Asthma Weed (Parietaria judacea) is a weed nettle often found lurking in moist urban bushland sites. The hairs on this woody herb can induce skin rashes whilst its pollen causes asthma, conjunctivitis and hay fever. Ironically it is grown for its medicinal properties, which may be inadvertently helping it invade bushland sites.
The Giant Stinging Tree is an important primary colonising tree (scab plant) which grows quickly within sub tropical East Coast rainforests, following a disturbance, like a landslip or a tree fall. They are also the home of the spectacular Splendid Ghost Moths, whose exquisite females display rich green forewings and pink hind wings whilst the males exhibit beautiful blue tones. Interestingly, the male moth produces a strong female attracting, pheromone scent from its glandular brush of hairs on its rear hind legs. This is opposite to most moths, in that the females disseminate the pheromone. Interestingly they have tunnelling larva, which bore into the young trees, after initially living amongst the forest floor litter.