Nettle Leaves

Nettle (Urtica dioica) is a dioecious, herbaceous, perennial plant, 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. The leaves have a strongly serrated margin, 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 or spicules), whose tips come off when touched, transforming the hair into a needle that can inject several chemicals causing a painful sting or paresthesia, giving the species its common names: stinging nettle, burn nettle, burn weed, or burn hazel.

Stinging nettle’s leaves and root provide a wide variety of nutrients, including

Vitamins: Vitamins A, C and K, as well as several B vitamins

Minerals: Calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and sodium

Fats: Linoleic acid, linolenic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid and oleic acid

Amino acids: All of the essential amino acids

Polyphenols: Kaempferol, quercetin, caffeic acid, coumarins and other flavonoids

• Pigments: Beta-carotene, lutein, luteoxanthin and other carotenoids