Stinging nettle

A native wild herb: use the young tips like spinach in soup, pesto, fillings or tea. Blanching or fine chopping disarms the stinging hairs. Pick March–June.

What is stinging nettle? The weed nobody understands

In almost every European garden, stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) gets cursed and ripped out with thick leather gloves, because its fine, glass-like stinging hairs raise itchy weals the moment you brush past. Herbalists see that defence as a sign of a plant worth taking seriously. Among Western herbalists, wild nettle is often seen as one of the most mineral-packed plants there is. If spinach has a strong nutrient profile, this fierce, fibrous wild plant looks almost like a vegetable from another planet on paper.

What’s in it: a mineral powerhouse

Few European leaves can match Urtica dioica for minerals:

• Iron and chlorophyll: Nettles contain lots of green chlorophyll and iron – together with vitamin C, which improves the absorption of iron from plant foods. In herbal tradition, nettles are used by people with tiredness from iron deficiency.
• Silica (silicic acid): One of the most sought-after ingredients in beauty products. Nettles contain plenty of it. The beauty industry links silica to firm skin and strong hair; the evidence that eating nettles stops hair loss is thin.

What studies look at: prostate and hay fever

Nettle root and the prostate

This research is about the root, not the leaves. From around the age of 45, many men develop an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia, BPH). Changes in oestrogen and DHT play a part. In lab studies, lignans from nettle root inhibit aromatase, the enzyme that converts testosterone into oestrogen. Nettle root extracts are sold for urinary symptoms in men with BPH. If you have these symptoms, see your GP first – they need checking.

Nettle and hay fever

It sounds ironic: a plant that releases histamine when it stings you is promoted as a natural antihistamine when swallowed. Some people with spring hay fever take capsules of concentrated freeze-dried nettle extract every morning. Lab research has looked at how nettle extract acts on mast cells, the cells that release histamine in the lining of the nose. Whether it noticeably reduces sneezing and streaming eyes hasn’t been clearly shown – capsules are no replacement for hay fever treatment from your pharmacist or GP.

Important: preparation and gloves

In early spring, pick only the top four tender leaves of each shoot, wearing thick gloves. Blanch them for just 20 seconds in boiling water: that breaks down the stinging hairs and disarms them completely. Then pound them in a pestle and mortar or blitz them with garlic and olive oil for a bitter, punchy spring pesto.