Urtica laetevirens
Maximowicz
Stinging nettle, Broad-leaved nettle, Tiger nettle
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(c) 戴勝, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Summary
A hardy perennial nettle reaching 1 m tall, growing in light, medium, or heavy soils with mildly acid to alkaline pH. Tolerates semi-shade or full sun with preference for moist soil. Monoecious with wind-pollinated flowers June to August and seeds ripening August to October; self-fertility absent.
Description
A stinging herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It grows up to 1 m high. It has a few bristles and hairs. The leaves are oval or heart shaped and 4-10 cm long by 2-6 cm wide. There are coarse teeth. The flowers are small and green. They are in spike like groups 8 cm long.
Edible Uses
Young leaves are best cooked, making a nutritious spinach substitute or a useful addition to soups and stews. The plant is high in vitamins and minerals. Harvest only young leaves and wear stout gloves to avoid being stung. Fresh leaves have stinging hairs, but thorough drying or cooking destroys them completely. Nettle beer can be brewed from the young shoots.
Traditional Uses
The young shoots are eaten as a potherb.
This uses section is brief — help expand it
Medicinal Uses
None known.
Known Hazards
The leaves of the plants have stinging hairs, causing irritation to the skin. This action is neutralized by heat so the cooked leaves are perfectly safe and nutritious. However, only young leaves should be used because older leaves develop gritty particles called cystoliths which act as an irritant to the kidneys.
Distribution
It grows in the eastern forests in Manchuria.
Where It Grows
Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Manchuria, Tibet,
Cultivation
We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in most parts of the country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Prefers a nitrogen-rich soil. The best fibre is produced when plants are grown on deep fertile soils. Plants are usually monoecious, but are occasionally dioecious. Male and female plants must be grown if seed is required.
Propagation
Sow seed in spring in a cold frame, barely covering it. Prick seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle and plant out in summer. Division can be done at almost any time in the growing season — plant divisions straight into their permanent positions.
Other Uses
A strong flax-like fibre from the stems is used for string, cloth and good quality paper. It is harvested as the plant begins to die down in early autumn and retted before the fibres are extracted. The following uses are listed for U. dioica but are considered almost certainly applicable here too. Residual plant matter after fibre extraction provides biomass for manufacturing sugar, starch, protein and ethyl alcohol. Seed oil is used as an illuminant. The plant is an essential ingredient of 'QR' herbal compost activator, a dried powdered herbal blend added to compost heaps to accelerate bacterial activity. Leaves are a valuable compost addition and can be soaked for 7–21 days in water to make a nutritious liquid plant feed that also works as an insect repellent and foliar feed. The growing plant raises the essential oil content of nearby plants, improving their resistance to insect pests. Flies are repelled, and freshly cut stems have been kept in food cupboards for this purpose. Plant juice or a decoction boiled in strong salt solution curdles milk as a rennet substitute; rubbed into leaky wooden tub seams it coagulates and seals them. Infused leaves make a hair wash used as a tonic and antidandruff treatment. A permanent green dye comes from a decoction of leaves and stems; a yellow dye from the root boiled with alum.
References (3)
- BARANOV,
- Hu, Shiu-ying, 2005, Food Plants of China. The Chinese University Press. p 365
- Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
