Always wear gloves when handling! Never pick them, not from the garden or from the greengrocer’s shelves, without protecting hands. Snip the leaves with scissors. If stung, seek hot water. Both leaves and stems are covered with small stiff hairs that inject a stinging fluid on contact in exposed flesh. Once dried or cooked, the leaves and stems lose their stinging properties.

Stinging nettle leaves display a fringe of pinkish-white or greenish blossoms and deeply toothed, heart shaped or oval leaves resembling the mint family. Nettles are botanically listed as an herb, not a vegetable, but the leaves, cooked down, are used like spinach.

Nutritional Value

Experts claim stinging nettles have a superior vitamin content. Rich in vitamin A, vitamin B, and vitamin C, they contain an excellent source of incomplete protein.

Ethnic/Cultural Info

Nutritionally rich, nettles make an iron-rich tonic tea for anemia. The leaves make a valuable fertilizer. The plant is said to be a digestive and diuretic, and as an astringent, aids circulation, relieves gout, eczema, arthritis and clears uric acid.

Seasons/Availability

Stinging nettle leaves are available in the spring season.