Stinging Nettle

Summer Smorgasbord of Environmental Learning: Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) There is perhaps no wild growing plant so globally ubiquitous, in terms of both cultural ingratiation and geographic distribution as the stinging nettle plant. Urtica dioica. Urtica: derived from the Latin word for “sting”. Dioica: derived from Greek and meaning “of two houses”. The two houses are in reference to the plant’s distinct male and female individuals, whose flowers either deliver or receive pollen via wind transport. But when one considers the deeper dualities of the stinging nettle’s reputation, it’s possible to derive other dichotomies associated with this plant that make the “two houses” mantle even more apt. It is a plant that is loved but also feared. Both avoided and harvested. Used to hurt, as well as to heal. Native American tribes have recorded for centuries the therapeutic applications of stinging nettle. When brewed into a tea or cooked and eaten, it is touted as a preventative against heavy bleeding during childbirth, a treatment for hay fever, and a remedy for inflamed joints, among many other benefits – both scientifically confirmed, and of the anecdotal nature. Nettle has been proven to be a great source of heart protecting vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A and C, carotenoids, and iron. On the other hand, the uncooked, untreated stinging nettle plant will deliver a potent sting to exposed skin, using its needle-like trichomes to inject a cocktail of pain-inducing neurotransmitters and acids. This unfriendly feature has caught the attention of human beings, and animals for that matter, across the world for thousands of years, as nettle varieties can be found across large swaths of Europe, Africa, Australasia, North America, and Asia. While the stinging trichomes ward away herbivorous animals, Urtica dioica remains an important native plant in healthy NJ ecosystems. Invulnerable to its sting, insects, like aphids, who in turn feed ladybugs, are frequent visitors to the stems and leaves of nettles. Likewise, stinging nettle is the preferred host plant for the red admiral butterfly, a productive pollinator 1 that serves in the propagation of many other native plants. Their eggs and larva are a common sight on nettle leaves in the summer. In addition, stinging nettle plants host question mark and eastern comma butterflies as well! Growing up to seven feet tall, common nettle prefers moist, rich soil, and Is not particularly resilient to drought conditions. Nevertheless, this plant will take hold almost anywhere at Duke Farms - from hiking trails and meadows, to soil that’s been turned up for development. You’ll typically find stinging nettle growing in clumps or colonies, as they can spread and propagate via “creeping rhizomes,” which are stems that spread out horizontally underground. This is in addition to the abundant seeds dispersed usually by An ant looking at home on the nettle, unaffected by the nettle’s trichomes. female individuals, which also happen to serve as a Credit: Stewart Hallman food source for birds. There is evidence of humans encountering nettle stings since as early as the late bronze age – around 1,200 BCE, when people first began drying and pounding stalks of nettle to extract fibers for textile uses – though it’s likely that human beings coexisted with nettle throughout prehistory, even before recorded use of the plant. While it is written that people throughout history self-inflicted nettle stings as a mental stimulant, and as a form of ritual or punishment, incidental contact is undoubtedly much more responsible for many stings today. Before treating the contact rash, it’s important to fully understand the potential symptoms. First, a small number of people can be allergic to stinging nettle. For this population, the sting can lead to difficulty breathing, chest tightness and wheezing. If you experience any of these serious symptoms, seek medical attention immediately. For everyone else, home remedies are Flowering nettle plants at Duke Farms. sufficient treatment. It’s important to note that while Credit: Stewart Hallman the sensible instinct after receiving a sting is to wash and 2 treat the area immediately, doing so with a stinging nettle sting can make things worse. It’s important to allow the sting to settle for 10 minutes before addressing the area, so that you do not push the stinging chemicals further down into your skin, which can prolong and intensify the pain. Once ten minutes has passed, you can safely use soap and water to wash the stinging chemicals away from the surface of your skin. Tape can be used to pull any remaining fibers from the affected area. Thankfully, unlike poison ivy, which can last weeks, the sting of the nettle usually only persists up to 24 hours. Cool compresses, hydrocortisone creams and other anti- itch ointments should hold you over until the rash subsides. If you’re out in the wilderness with no access to modern treatments, crushed dock leaves, which are usually found growing near nettles, have been used Dock leaves, a folk remedy for nettle for generations as a natural folk remedy – although stings. Photo: public domain there is no scientific evidence to support the practice. Still, it’s worth a try in a pinch! Just make sure you study the attached picture of dock leaf so that you don’t touch any more unfriendly plants! Sources Stinging nettle rash treatment, Healthline Nettle tea benefits, TheHealthy Urtica Dioica, North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox Wildflowers: Stinging nettle, The Wildlife Trusts Two Burning Houses: A Natural History of Stinging Nettle, North Cascades Institute Extensions Would you consider stinging nettle to be friend or foe? Select one and defend your answer with facts. Investigate other organisms that have stinging features including those with nematocysts. What do they have in common and how are they different from one another? Can you think of another plant used by humans or other animals that also has a prickly outer covering? How do animals navigate safely around this potentially harmful surface? 3 An assortment of the New Jersey Student Learning Standards aligns to this resource. This is just a small sample: K-ESS3-1 Use a model to represent the relationship between the needs of different plants or animals and the places they live. 2-LS2-2 Develop a simple model that mimics the function of an animal in dispersing seeds or pollinating plants. 2-LS4-1 Make observations of plants and animals to compare the diversity of life in different habitats. 3-LS4-3 Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all. MS-LS1-8 Gather and synthesize information that sensory receptors respond to stimuli by sending messages to the brain for immediate behavior or storage as memories. For more ideas, contact Kate Reilly, Manager of Education, Duke Farms at [email protected]. 4 .

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