Stinging nettle Profile

Stinging nettle is a perennial herb, up to 100 cm tall, quadrangular in shape, and few branches. The leaf is a submembranous, broadly oval, elliptical, pentagonal or nearly round outline, lobes gradually enlarged from bottom to top, triangular or oblong, green or dark green above, light green below, petiole densely bristles and slightly soft hairs. It’s stipules, green, monoecious, inflorescences paniculate, and male flowers with short stalks, tepals connate in the middle and lower parts, female flowers are small and almost sessile; achenes are nearly round with brownish-red warts on the surface Point; it usually blooms from August to October and bears fruit from September to November.

Nettles are distributed in Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Henan, southern Shaanxi, southeastern Gansu, Sichuan, Guizhou, and central Yunnan in China. It is also distributed in northern Vietnam.

Stinging nettle morphological characteristics

Stinging nettle is a perennial herb with horizontal rhizomes. The stem is more from the base, 40-100 cm high, quadrangular, densely bristles, and puberulent, with few branches. The leaves of nettle are close to membranous. It has a broad oval, elliptical, pentagonal, or nearly circular outline, 5-15 cm long, 3-14 cm wide, apex acuminate or acute, base truncated, or heart-shaped. There are 5-7 pairs of shallow lobes or palmate 3 deep lobes on the edge, and the lobes gradually increase from bottom to top, triangular or oblong, 1-5 cm long, sharp or tail-shaped at the apex, and several irregular teeth-shaped edges serrated, green or dark green on the top, sparse bristles, and rough hairs, light green below, densely pubescent, with dense pubescent hairs and bristles on the veins, stalactites rod-shaped, thin nearly punctate, with 5 veins at the base, the upper pair extends to the tip of the middle and upper split teeth, and 3-6 pairs of lateral veins.
Stinging nettle is monoecious, female inflorescences have upper leaf axils, males have lower leaf axils, sparsely dioecious; inflorescences are paniculate, with few branches, sometimes subspike-like, up to 10 cm long, ordinal axes are puberulent and sparse Bristles. Male flowers have short stalks, about 1.4 mm in diameter at the bud, about 2.5 mm in diameter after opening; tepals 4, connate in the middle and lower parts, lobes are often oblong-ovate, outer sparsely puberulent; degenerative pistil bowl-shaped, No stalk, it is often white and transparent; female flowers are small and almost sessile. The achene is nearly round, slightly biconvex lens-shaped, about 1 mm long, with brown-red verrucous spots on the surface; persistent perianth 4, the inner surface of two sub-circular, nearly as large as the fruit, outer two sub-circular shape, about 4 times shorter than the inner surface, with thin edges and fine bristles on the outside. The flowering period of nettle is from August to October, and the fruit period of Stinging nettle is from September to November.

Stinging nettle growth habit and growing environment and distribution

Nettles grow on hillsides, roadsides, or houses in semi-shady wet places at an altitude of about 100 meters (in Zhejiang) or 500-2000 meters. Nettles are distributed in Anhui (Qimen), Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Henan (Funiu Mountain), southern Shaanxi, southeastern Gansu, Sichuan, Guizhou, and central Yunnan, China. It is also distributed in northern Vietnam.

Stinging nettle efficacy and role

Medicinal value

Nettle has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient Greco-Roman times. In Europe, nettle is used as a popular medicine as a diuretic, astringent, hemostatic agent, expectorant and prolactin, for the treatment of arthritis, chronic skin diseases, etc. Nettle preparations are used externally to treat seborrheic dermatitis, dandruff, and prevent hair loss. In Turkey, local herbalists use the whole nettle as medicine to prevent various diseases and almost replace all medicinal plants. Nettle preparations are widely used abroad (especially in Germany). The German drug Fengshian is an extract of nettle leaves. Its main component is coffee phthalomalic acid, which has anti-inflammatory activity. It is used for the self-help treatment of patients with rheumatism. It is one of the five most commonly used drugs in Germany and is in OTC drugs. important position.

Health value

In the field of application, the development of nettle plants outside China has expanded from the fields of medicine and food to the fields of daily necessities. Oral health products such as toothpaste and mouthwash prepared from Chinese nettle extracts can reduce the occurrence of dental plaque, dental bleeding, and gingivitis. The hairdressing cosmetics prepared with the alcohol extract of nettle plants can improve the blood supply and respiration of the scalp, and reduce the production of hair grease and dandruff.

Edible value

Nettles are also edible. In Russia and other countries, the stems and leaves of nettle are cooked and processed into various dishes: cold dresses, soups, grilled dishes, nettle juice, beverages, and seasonings. Nettles (plants and leaves) are listed as natural sources of food seasonings in Europe and can be used to make soups and herbal teas. The protein and fat content of nettle seeds is close to that of oil crops such as hemp, sunflower, and flax; the oil extracted from nettle seeds has a unique taste and has the function of strengthening the body; nettle leaves are rich in protein and multiple vitamins. Its tender leaves are used as vegetables or as pies, and its taste is elegant and delicious.

Stinging nettle cultivation

Soil preparation and fertilization
You'd better choose a flat, loose loam or sandy soil plot, apply 5,000 kilograms of chicken manure per mu, and turn it into a 1.2-meter-wide flat border.

Planting

You'd better use seed roots and ramets to propagate. In early April, when the temperature reaches 5-10 degrees, you can go into the mountains to collect seed roots, and plant them immediately after harvesting. When planting, digging holes with a row spacing of 70 cm is necessary, a plant spacing of 20 cm, and a depth of 30 cm After digging, place the roots of the nettle, and then cover 5-8 cm of soil, lay flat and stomped, and finally water the seedlings in 7-10 days.

Field management

Intertillage and weeding: The first intertillage and weeding are carried out after the nettles emerge.
Watering: Keep the soil dry and wet. Generally, water once when the seedlings grow to 20-30 cm, water once before closing the ridge, and generally do not water after closing the ridge. Pay more attention to drainage in summer.
Topdressing: combined with watering for top dressing, nettle does not have strict requirements on fertilizer and water, generally in the case of applying plantar fertilizer, combine 15-20 kg of urea with 15-20 kg of water to promote the growth of new leaves and plants before ridge sealing or after leaf picking.

Harvesting and processing

Nettles can be harvested the same year they are planted, and they can be harvested year after year. Generally, when the plant reaches 40-60 cm in height in early and mid-May, eat its tender stems and leaves, avoid exposing the skin when harvesting, and blanch it with boiling water before refrigerating.