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[ 2194 ]Urtica dioica

Nettle Leaf Cut & Sifted

1/4 Pound:  $4.46 Pound:  $9.92 
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[ 1465 ]Urtica dioicaORG

Nettle Leaf Cut & Sifted, Organic

1/4 Pound:  $6.30 Pound:  $14.00 
Nettle leaf, powder image
[ 1517 ]Urtica dioica

Nettle Leaf Powder

1/4 Pound:  $3.84 Pound:  $8.53 
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[ 5066 ]Urtica dioicaORG

Nettle Leaf Powder, Organic

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1/4 Pound:  $4.62 Pound:  $10.26 out of stock  
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[ 4430 ]Urtica dioicaORG

Nettle Root cut & sifted, organic

1/4 Pound:  $5.58$4.74 Pound:  $12.41$10.55 
Nettle Root, c/s wild crafted image
[ 4410 ]Urtica dioica

nettle root cut & sifted, wild crafted

1/4 Pound:  $3.38 Pound:  $7.50 
Nettle Root, powder image
[ 2156 ]Urtica dioica

Nettle Root Powder

1/4 Pound:  $4.76 Pound:  $10.58 
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Urtica dioica
plant overview
spring tonic and seasoning

Nettle is a perennial plant that thrives in woodlands and other shady areas throughout Europe and eastern North America. It is also called stinging nettle because the leaves are lined with stinging hairs that inject histamine into the skin when handled or brushed against, although they readily drop off when introduced to hot water or steam. Nettle is one of the first herbs to emerge in early spring and because the leaves are rich in calcium and other nutrients, it is considered a valuable tonic herb. While whole leaves are cooked like spinach or roasted to make crisp snack chips, dried nettle is used in teas or simply sprinkled into cooked foods and smoothies.

Clicking "learn more" next to each variety will take you to individual product pages for details.

01.
A Bit of Botany

a little botanical information on nettle

description
Urtica dioica is a dioecious herbaceous perennial of the Urticaceae family, 1 to 2 m (3 to 7 ft) tall in the summer and dying down to the ground in winter. It has widely spreading rhizomes and stolons, which are bright yellow as are the roots. The soft green leaves are 3 to 15 cm (1 to 6 in) long and are borne oppositely on an erect wiry green stem. They have a strongly serrated margin, with a cordate base and an acuminate tip with a terminal leaf tooth longer than adjacent laterals. It bears small greenish or brownish numerous flowers in dense axillary inflorescences. The leaves and stems are very hairy with non-stinging hairs and in most subspecies also bear many stinging hairs (trichomes), whose tips come off when touched, transforming the hair into a needle that will inject several chemical irritants.

common names & nomenclature
The common name stinging nettle is in reference to the irritants that the needle-like hairs of the plant inject into your skin upon contact.

Also known as:
nettle, stinging nettle, devil's claw, devil's plaything, burn nettle, burn hazel, burn weed

Nettle, the spring tonic and seasoning

02.
Where in the World

habitat and range for nettle

Urtica dioica is native to Europe, Asia, northern Africa, and North America.

03.
Cultivation & Harvesting

considerations for growing and harvesting nettle

climate
Nettles grow in partly shaded temperate regions in meadows, forest edges, waste spaces and cultivated beds.

soil
Nettle prefers a moist, rich soil.

growing
Sow seeds in spring in a cold frame, only just covering the seed. Transplant the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle, and plant them out in the summer. Division succeeds at almost any time in the growing season, plant divisions straight out into their permanent locations.

harvesting
Harvest the whole plant during the middle or at the end of the growing season. Hang the plants upside-down to dry and cut the dried parts up for later use.

preserving
Store dried nettle in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

04.
The Rest of the Story

nettle history, folklore, literature & more

Nettle was used in weaving before it became popular in herbal healing. Archeologists have discovered nettle-fabric burial shrouds at Bronze Age sites in Denmark. In Les Miserables, one of Victor Hugo's characters calls nettle fabric as strong as canvas. And during World War I, when cotton was in short supply in Germany, nettle cloth was substituted.

Its use in healing also harkens back to the ancient world. Around the third century B.C., Hippocrates' Greek contemporaries prescribed nettle juice externally to treat snakebites and scorpion stings and internally as an antidote to such plant poisons as hemlock and henbane.

Roman soldiers flailed themselves with nettles in cold climates because the herb's sting warmed their skin. This practice, called urtication, evolved into a treatment still used today for the joint stiffness of arthritis and the intense joint pains of gout.

Early European herbalists touted nettle tea to treat cough and tuberculosis, and strange as this sounds today, the herb was smoked to treat asthma. Herbalists also prescribed nettle to treat scurvy and stop bleeding, particularly nosebleeds. Somewhere along the way, nettle juice gained a reputation as a hair growth stimulant, and it remained an ingredient in hair-growth nostrums well into the 19th century.

Seventeenth-century English herbalist Nicholas Culpeper endorsed all the nettle prescriptions which preceded him, and added some of his own: "The decoction of the leaves in wine is singularly good to provoke women's courses (menstruation)".

American Indian women believed drinking nettle tea during pregnancy strengthened the fetus and eased delivery. They also used it to stop uterine bleeding after childbirth. Early settlers adopted this use, and nursing mothers also used nettle to increase their milk production.

Nettle won't grow hair, boost milk production, or guarantee easy childbirth, but science lends some support to a few of its age-old uses.

GOUT: Some German researchers have shown nettle juice and infusion help relieve the pain of gout. According to medical herbalist Rudolph Fritz Weiss, M.D., the effect "is not very powerful, but long-term use may give definite clinical results."

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE: Nettle also has some diuretic action. In Germany, where herbal medicine is more mainstream than it is in the United States, physicians prescribe nettle in the treatment of high blood pressure. Dr. Weiss writes: "Nettle juice is definitely useful in diuretic therapy. It has the advantage of being well tolerated and safe, as distinct from the pharmaceutical thiazides now so widely used. High blood pressure is a serious condition requiring professional care. If you'd like to include nettle in your overall treatment plan, do so only with the supervision of your physician.

Nettle may be safer than thiazides, but diuretics deplete the body of potassium, an essential nutrient. If you use nettle frequently, be sure to eat foods high in potassium, such as bananas and fresh vegetables. Pregnant and nursing women should avoid diuretics.

for educational purposes only

This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

please be advised:  Before making any changes to your diet you should always consult with your doctor, especially if you are pregnant, nursing or have existing conditions.

All reviews solely reflect the views and opinions expressed by the reviewer and not that of Monterey Bay Herb Co. We do not verify or endorse any claims made by any reviewer. None of these statements have been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or health condition.