Nettle: properties and contraindications, cultivation, use

Author: Elena N. https://floristics.info/ru/index.php?option=com_contact&view=contact&id=19 Category: Garden plants Published: October 23, 2017Last edits: January 20, 2021

Nettle (lat. Urtica) is a genus of flowering plants in the nettle family, which includes more than fifty species that grow in temperate regions of both hemispheres. In our latitudes, two species are more common than others: stinging nettle (lat. Urtica urens) and stinging nettle (lat. Urtica dioica), or stinging nettle, stinging nettle, stinging nettle. Representatives of both species are valuable food and medicinal raw materials; they are also used for the industrial production of chlorophyll, necessary for the perfume and pharmaceutical industries.

Planting and caring for nettles

• Planting: sowing seeds in open ground before winter. You can sow in early spring, but before spring sowing, the seeds must undergo a month-long cold stratification.
• Lighting: bright sunlight or partial shade.
• Soil: moist, fertile, preferably sandy, cleared of rhizomatous weeds.
• Watering: as needed with rain, well or spring water.
• Feeding: in spring with rotted compost or manure. Nettle does not like mineral fertilizers.
• Reproduction: by seeds and division of rhizomes.
• Pests: urticaria butterflies and their caterpillars.
• Diseases: practically not affected.
• Properties: a medicinal plant rich in vitamins and biologically active elements, the leaves of which have anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic, hemostatic, wound healing, laxative, expectorant, diuretic, tonic and anticonvulsant effects.

Read more about growing nettles below.

An indoor flower similar to nettle. Signs about the coleus or nettle flower

In nature, there are a large number of varieties of decorative deciduous shrubs, coleus. This is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Lamiaceae family. Its homeland is tropical Asia and Africa. Thanks to the variety of colors of the beautiful velvet leaves, the flower has become a popular ornamental landscape plant. Coleus is also grown on window sills and balconies, but certain superstitions and signs are associated with it.

Mostly, hybrid coleus is grown in homes - an unpretentious, small-sized indoor plant. The leaves are oval, broadly ovate with a heart-shaped or truncated base. The edges of the leaf blade are crenate, wavy, sometimes jagged. Due to the external similarity of the leaves, the flower received a second name - colored nettle.

Signs

• A plant in the house promises monetary losses and financial ruin to its owner.
• People say “coleus in the house means a fire.”
• If the flower has bloomed, you need to expect unexpected events.

Is it possible to keep it in the house?

Coleus is quite unpretentious and is able to delight its owners with its whimsical beauty for a long time. It is not known exactly why this handsome man has become overgrown with negative signs. However, all flower growers say that they are long-time fans and owners of various types of coleus, and for many years none of the above troubles have happened to them.

Some types of plants not only decorate the surrounding space around them, but even provide benefits. For example, Coleus Forskolii is used in the production of some medicines and dietary supplements due to the content of forskolin, which can activate and normalize metabolism, help vitamins and other beneficial substances be better absorbed. Thanks to this, fat deposits are burned more efficiently and quickly, and the appearance and condition of the skin improves.

Coleus care

If you have decided to have coleus in your home, then you need to know how to care for it:

• The flower loves light very much: the more leaves it has, the more sunlight the plant needs. Therefore, it needs to be placed in well-lit places, and it must be taken into account that in summer direct rays of the sun are contraindicated for it, but in winter they are highly recommended.
• From the beginning of spring to the end of summer, coleus is watered as needed, that is, when the top layer of soil begins to dry out. In winter, the volume of water must be reduced; sometimes 2-3 waterings per week are enough. It is recommended to use settled water for irrigation. The lack of moisture in the soil is judged by the condition of the leaves: if they begin to become lethargic, then they need to be watered urgently.
• Coleus loves a high level of humidity at home, so it can be placed in the kitchen - this is where humidity is present and it is always warm. If the humidity is low, the leaves should be sprayed with water at room temperature.
• In spring and summer, the flower needs to be fed. To do this, you can use fertilizers of organic or mineral origin.
• In winter, the plant may lose its attractive appearance, so with the onset of spring and the appearance of new shoots, pruning must be done.
• Coleus needs to be replanted every 2-3 years.

Botanical description

Representatives of the genus Nettle are monoecious or dioecious annuals or perennials with opposite, entire, serrated, serrate or three to five dissected leaves at the edges. Both the stems and leaves of nettles are often covered with stinging bristles. The inflorescences of plants are false-spike-shaped, consisting of pistillate or staminate flowers. The fruit of nettle is a compressed, flat nut covered with perianth.

The stinging nettle hair is a large cell whose structure resembles a medical ampoule and contains juice, which contains choline, formic acid and histamine. When you touch a hair, its upper part breaks, penetrates under the skin, and the effect of the juice is felt like a sharp burn in the place where you touched the plant. Usually, nettle stings are harmless, but there are several tropical species, tactile contact with which can even lead to death.

In our country, nettles can be found in vacant lots, near fences, near roads, in vegetable gardens, forest clearings, damp meadows, along the banks of reservoirs, in ravines and ditches. The beneficial properties of stinging nettle have been known since time immemorial, so today this weed can be found both in home gardens, country houses, and on agricultural plots.

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Dangerous properties of the plant

No matter how useful nettle is, it is always worth remembering that it causes burns to the skin, which means you need to be careful with it. For most people, the burns go away quickly, but some may experience dangerous allergic reactions.

In addition, not everyone can take advantage of the beneficial properties of the plant. It should not be used as a remedy:

1. With high blood clotting (this can lead to the formation of blood clots).
2. In case of heart or kidney failure.
3. For skin allergies and individual intolerances.
4. During pregnancy.
5. For female bleeding.

Growing nettles

The nettle plant grows well on its own, but it still develops better in a specially fertilized and prepared area. Nettles are propagated by seed and vegetative methods (segments of rhizomes). Nettle seeds do not need special pre-sowing treatment, however, stratification for a month at a temperature of 0 to 5 ºC can increase their germination by 20-30%.

The perennial plant stinging nettle prefers areas located in partial shade or sun with well-moistened fertile or sandy soil, cleared of rhizomatous weeds. Sow nettles before winter or early spring: shoots can appear already at a temperature of 8 ºC. Nettle seeds mixed with sand are buried by 1-1.5 cm, row spacing is left 60-70 cm wide. After planting the seeds, the surface is sprinkled with a layer of peat or humus 5 mm thick and before germination (if sowing was done in early spring) the soil on the site keep slightly moist. Shoots will appear in April (with winter sowing) or in May.

If you prefer to propagate nettles vegetatively, dig up its rhizome in the spring, divide it into segments 8-10 cm long and plant them at a distance of 60 cm from each other to a depth of 8 cm. With this method of propagation, nettle budding occurs a month earlier than with seed .

Rules of care

At first, the seedlings look weak and develop very slowly, but after two months the bushes begin to grow intensively: they become branched and lush. Caring for nettles is not difficult; you just need to follow the usual procedures for every gardener: watering, loosening, weeding and fertilizing the soil.

It is better to water nettles with spring, well or rain water heated in the sun.

Nettle is demanding on the nitrogen content in the soil, but it is better not to apply mineral fertilizers to the site. Feed your nettles with rotted compost or manure.

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As for diseases and pests, nettle is resistant to them. She may only have problems with the wren butterfly, the caterpillars of which will have to be collected manually in June. The fact that nettle caterpillars live in clusters makes the work easier; however, when collecting them, do not forget about safety precautions: nettles are very stinging.

Home flower red nettle. Description of houseplant coleus (room nettle)

The houseplant coleus or indoor nettle is valued by gardeners for the richest selection of color combinations on variegated leaves, as well as for its rapid growth, ease of propagation and low maintenance requirements.

In nature, there are about 150 species of annual and perennial coleus plants, common in tropical regions of the globe. In home floriculture, varieties and forms of indoor nettle of polyhybrid origin are used.

Various varieties of the houseplant Coleus x hybridus are characterized by: erect stems, square in cross-section, and opposite arrangement of oval velvety leaves. The edges of the leaf blades can be jagged, dissected, wavy, fringed and even curly. The description of coleus flowers is not so diverse - they can be small bluish or purple inflorescences located in false whorls. Basically, indoor nettle is valued for its ease of care and durability.

Photo of coleus flowers (room nettle)

The variety of patterns on the leaves is amazing. The photo of coleus flowers shows that the leaves can have a simple border, contrasting with the main background, with emphasized veins.

On some varieties, all kinds of spots, specks, stains, marbling, stripes, iridescence, and so on are clearly visible.

Color combinations are also the most unpredictable. Our photo gallery contains many photos of potted nettle: from traditional yellow-green and green-brown to various shades of red or green-violet combinations.

The varieties of coleus differ in the size of the plants; among them there are both large and powerful ones, as well as miniature ones, as well as hanging varieties.

Coleus care at home

To get a beautifully formed bright coleus bush, you need to choose a well-lit place (in the middle zone in winter, even direct sunlight is not scary). Winter temperature should not be lower than +12 + 15 °C.

Caring for coleus at home involves abundant summer and moderate winter watering. In hot weather, fresh air and spraying are necessary.

From March to August, monthly feeding is carried out. It is better to use complex fertilizers for decorative deciduous plants or organic ones (there should be a predominance of nitrogen, since potassium-phosphorus fertilizers stimulate flowering).

It is better not to replant coleus, but to rejuvenate it annually, that is, to renew it from cuttings. Pinching and formative pruning is necessary. It is better to propagate by cuttings (this way all parental external characteristics are preserved). When propagated by seeds, the appearance of the resulting seedlings is unpredictable.

Nettle collection and storage

How to collect

Medicinal raw materials are seeds, leaves and rhizomes of nettle. Stinging nettle leaves are collected from June to September, during the flowering period. You can tear them off while wearing gloves, or you can mow the grass, wait until not only the leaves, but also the stems wither, and tear off the foliage with your bare hands. The best time to collect is at dawn on Tuesday during the first quarter of the Moon. In any case, lunar calendars claim that the raw materials collected at this time have special healing powers.

After collecting, the leaves are dried in the shade under a canopy or in the attic, spreading them in a layer 3-5 cm thick on paper or fabric. When dried in the sun, the leaves become discolored and lose some of their medicinal qualities. You can dry nettle leaves in the oven with the door open at 50 ºC. The process is considered complete when the petioles and central veins of the leaves break easily. Sufficiently dried leaves have a dark green color, a faint odor and a bitter taste. The yield of dry raw materials is approximately one fifth of the volume collected. Dry raw materials are sorted, rejecting yellowed, blackened, browned leaves and foreign impurities. Store nettles in paper bags or fabric bags in a dry, well-ventilated place, away from sunlight. Shelf life – 2 years.

Stinging nettle and stinging nettle seeds are collected when they are fully ripe. This usually happens about three weeks after flowering ends, in September. The tops are cut off, dried and threshed.

Stinging nettle rhizomes are dug up in autumn or spring, cleaned of dirt, dried at a temperature of 40 ºC and stored for 3 years under the same conditions as the leaves.

When harvesting nettle roots and rhizomes, the entire plant is destroyed, therefore, when collecting roots, leave 10-15% of the plants on the site untouched for renewal. The next time it will be possible to harvest roots in this area only in three years.

Nettle for women after 50 years

For women over 50, there are no special indications or contraindications, with the exception of an allergic reaction. The most useful application is to use it to strengthen hair.

It is best to use a fresh decoction for each procedure. Therefore, to prepare one serving of this decoction, take 100 g of fresh leaves. Take a pan, put the leaves in it and fill it with a liter of a mixture of water and vinegar in a 1:1 ratio. Place the pan on the fire, bring to a boil and simmer for several minutes.

The procedure is carried out within a month. After which a break is taken for a couple of weeks, then the procedure is repeated.

It is useful to drink fresh juice regularly. This helps keep the body in a vigorous state and improve immunity. The leaves are best used when nettles are in bloom. Take a teaspoon of juice three times a day.

It is also not recommended for use by those who have severe thrombophlebitis and varicose veins.

Decoctions help improve memory. To prevent sclerosis, for example, an alcohol tincture of fresh shoots is used. Several nettle shoots are poured with 500 ml of alcohol or vodka and infused in the dark for about a week. Take a teaspoon of tincture twice a day - before breakfast and bedtime.

Types and varieties

Medicinal types of nettle include:

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• Stinging nettle is a herbaceous perennial with a powerful root and branched horizontal rhizome. This plant reaches a height of 60 to 200 cm. All ground organs of stinging nettle are covered with stinging hairs. The shoots of the plant are elongated, the stems are hollow, ascending or straight. The leaf arrangement is opposite. Equilateral, simple, whole, long-petiolate leaves of stinging nettle are dark green. They reach 17 cm in length and 8 cm in width. The shape of the plate is oblong, ovoid-lanceolate or ovoid-cordate, sometimes elliptical with a deep-cordate base. Axillary panicles consist of small unisexual yellowish flowers, staminate and pistillate. The fruits of stinging nettle are biconvex compressed achenes of yellowish or light brown color. One plant can produce up to 22,000 seeds;
• Stinging nettle is a herbaceous dioecious annual with erect, furrowed, tetrahedral stems from 15 to 35 cm high, pubescent with hard glandular hairs. The leaves of plants of this species are dark green, opposite, serrate, covered with stinging hairs, ovoid or oval, 2 to 6 cm long. Small green axillary flowers, solitary or collected in a spike-shaped inflorescence, can be pistillate or staminate. The fruit of stinging nettle is a multi-seeded capsule or nut.

Nettle recipes

In addition to the medicinal properties that are manifested in the use of infusions, decoctions and teas, this plant is very well used in cooking. Of course, the most popular and widely known dish is nettle cabbage soup. However, other equally tasty and healthy dishes can be prepared from this plant.

Young nettle salad with kefir

We collect fresh young leaves and chop them finely. For the salad you will need one glass of nettle. A bunch of fresh green onions, which we also chop finely, will also come in handy. Next, boil one chicken egg and put a glass of kefir. The ingredients are ready, let's make the salad.

Mix with onions, place in a deep plate and pour in kefir. Cut the egg into rings and place it on top. Salad ready.

For breakfast, a sandwich with nettles

You will need dry leaves that need to be ground into powder. If you do not have any, you can purchase such powder at the pharmacy. Mix dry leaves with butter in a 1:1 ratio. As a result, we get a kind of nettle oil that can be spread on bread or a loaf.

Classic nettle soup or nettle cabbage soup

To prepare cabbage soup we take:

Young nettle – any quantity (up to 100 g).

• Egg – 1 pc.
• Carrots – 1 pc.
• Onion – 1 pc.
• Potatoes – 4 pcs.

Prepare cabbage soup as follows. Nettle is doused with boiling water and chopped. Place a saucepan on the fire and pour in water. You can also use meat broth. Bring the water to a boil and add the diced potatoes. Cook for 10 minutes and add onions and carrots, which we cut into rings. Cook for about five minutes, then add the nettles. Add salt to taste and cook for about 3 minutes. At the end of cooking, pour the soup into bowls, add half a boiled egg, sour cream and serve.

Properties of nettle - harm and benefit

Medicinal properties

The composition of nettle leaves includes: vitamins A, H, C, E and K, B1, B2, B4, B5, B6, B9, niacin, macroelements chlorine, calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, trace elements copper, barium, aluminum , molybdenum, iron, zinc, selenium and manganese. There is 2 times more ascorbic acid in nettle than in lemon, and more vitamin A than in spinach, sea buckthorn, sorrel and carrots. Nettle also contains tannins, phytoncides, chlorophyll, flavonoids and organic acids - gallusic and formic.

Nettle leaves are anti-inflammatory, hypoglycemic and hemostatic. They increase the tone of the uterus, hemoglobin levels and the number of red blood cells in the blood. They are used in the treatment of liver and bladder diseases, pulmonary tuberculosis, anemia, rheumatism, radiculitis and metabolic disorders. The treatment of nettle was effective .

Traditional medicine has recipes for nettle preparations that have wound-healing, laxative, expectorant, diuretic, tonic and anticonvulsant properties. Regular consumption of nettle leaves promotes rapid healing of small ulcers and wounds, and nettle infusion used for compresses, baths and lotions prevents hair loss. People have been using nettle for hair for a long time: 2-3 tablespoons of dry leaves are brewed with a glass of boiling water, left for an hour and filtered.

In addition to the infusion, a nettle decoction is used to improve the condition of hair. How to brew nettles ? Take a tablespoon of dry leaves and crushed dry rhizomes of the plant, add a glass of water, cook for half an hour, then let cool slightly and rub into the scalp. There is no need to rinse off the broth, just pat your hair with a towel.

You can make a wonderful organic fertilizer from nettle, which tomatoes are very fond of: healthy stems with leaves are collected before the seeds appear, they are placed interspersed with the remains of baked goods in a large container, filling it only ¾ full, then pour in water with yeast diluted in it, not exceeding the intended level, and leave in the sun for 3-5 days for fermentation, stirring the composition from time to time. Apply ready-made nettle fertilizer once a week.

And finally, we offer you a recipe for nettle soup. Fry nettle leaves with white onion in a frying pan for 7 minutes in olive oil. Separately, boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, puree them in a blender, keeping the pan over low heat and gradually adding butter, cream and milk to the potatoes. At the end, at low speed, stir the nettle and onion into the puree soup. Serve nettle soup with sour cream or grated Gouda cheese. For one and a half kilograms of potatoes you will need 300 ml of cream, 500 ml of milk, a bunch of nettles, 2 teaspoons of butter. Add salt, pepper, sour cream or grated cheese to taste.

Contraindications

Nettle and its preparations are strictly contraindicated during pregnancy, especially in the last months. It is also harmful to those who suffer from thrombophlebitis.

Useful properties of the plant

It is difficult for people far from botany to discern the differences between the types of nettles (photos and descriptions of some varieties are given in the article). Whatever variety of this group of plants we are talking about, the only important fact is that all representatives of the extensive family have incredibly beneficial properties. Nettle contains phytoncides, tannins and phenolic acids. Also found in small quantities are: bata-carotene, folic acid, vitamin H, choline, vitamin E and iodine.

Essential oils, porphrin, sirotitnin, phenocarbolic and pantothenic acids, histamine, and flavonoids were found in the foliage and stems of the plant. Even the seeds of the plant contain vitamin C and linoleic acid.

The high content of vitamin C in nettle explains its rather strong preventive effect and strengthening properties. Vitamin K relieves inflammation and improves blood clotting. But the high content of B vitamins allows the culture to be used in the fight against diseases of the nervous system. Phosphorus and calcium have a beneficial effect on the condition of teeth and nails, and magnesium and potassium contribute to the proper functioning of the heart and blood vessels. Due to the high iron content in nettle, the plant is used in the treatment of anemia. In addition, nettle helps in the fight against diabetes, since secretin reduces sugar levels in the circulatory system, as well as the effects of radioactive radiation.