Have you ever gone for a walk in the woods and touched a plant only to get an extreme itching, burning sensation. It can be quite painful. Congratulations, you have come into contact with Urtica dioica or otherwise known as Stinging Nettle. Growing up, we always called it Itch Weed. It looks innocent enough, but it has lots of little stinging hairs, that contain formic acid, histamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) that will cause this stinging and burning sensation. This sensation can last up to 24 hours, depending upon the sensitivity of the person. This plant can be found all across the United States. If left unchecked, the plant spreads by seeds and by its rhizome roots and can grow into rather large patches.

Now you may ask why anyone would ever want to consider planting such a weed. It does not produce pretty flowers, so it can't attract anything worthwhile, right? No, this isn't true. I once thought of this plant as a terrible nuisance. Eradicate it from my property. I took much pleasure from cleaning it out of my fence rows and next to my out buildings. But one year, I was busier than most and let a patch grow in my field. Later that summer, I found lots of caterpillars on it and that is when I found that Stinging Nettles are a host plant for several butterflies. One butterfly, the Milbert Torteshell, uses Stinging Nettles as their sole host plant for their caterpillars. This is a delightful butterfly and one that I have become quite fond of. Nettles are also the host plant for Red Admirals, Painted Ladies, West Coast Ladies, Satyr Anglewing and Commas. If you don't know what a host plant is, that is a plant that a caterpillar eats to survive on. Some caterpillars have several host plants, others have only one.

Locating the caterpillars on the leaves is not hard. All you need to do is look for leaves that are closed in half, from side to side. It is amazing to watch a caterpillar the size of hair, weave these leaves closed. They take a fine silk and carefully lace the leaf closed. After the leaf is closed about them, they then will eat inside of the enclosure. This is to protect them from predators. But it only protects them to a certain extent. Spiders crawl inside to snack on the caterpillars. I have watched wasps peruse up and down the plants, looking for caterpillars. One butterfly may lay several hundred eggs, but only about 2% of the eggs will survive to become adult butterflies.

If you do decide to introduce this plant onto your property, plant it somewhere that you are not likely to come into contact with it much. If you are able to mow around it on a regular basis, this will keep if from spreading. It grows best in nitrogen rich soil. I find that my butterflies like to lay eggs on the patches that are in the afternoon sun. You do not find as many caterpillars on the patches that are located in the shade during the afternoon. I have found that with practice and much care, you are able to touch this plant without getting stung. If you do get stung, it is said that you can crush jewelweed, plantain, or dock, over the area to alleviate the pain.

On my research of this plant, I found that it is reported to have many other benefits. You are able to eat it and drink it. There is a recipe for Nettle Pudding and you can make a Nettle Tea. What are the benefits to eating or drinking this? Stinging Nettles have high levels of minerals, including a trace of iron, and it has more protein than any other vegetable. One person wrote that when they felt tired, run down, or irritable, that the tea was good for rebuilding the system. He also went on to say that it makes your hair brighter, thicker, and shinier and your skin clearer and healthier (good for eczema and other skin conditions). I even read that it is recommended for weight loss, but they went on to say that you may lose more water than weight.

Not sure you want to put this stinging plant inside your mouth? There are plenty of uses for this plant other than eating or drinking it. You can make hair tonics, facial steams and rinses, and nettle tea compresses are good for wounds, cuts, burns or stings. And I have heard that it can relieve arthritis. Soaking the leaves overnight in water, then using this as a spray is supposed to be a good pesticide for aphids or spider mites. And using the Nettle Tea to feed your plant reportedly helps them to grow.

I am not sure I am brave enough to eat it or drink nettle yet. Maybe I will have my family in and make a new recipe, only to announce what was in it after they have finished. Or maybe I will wait to see if their hair and complexion improves, then try it myself. I am curious to see if it will work as a pesticide and also boost my plants growth, but I do know for one thing, the regardless of whether it will give me shiny hair or cure what ails me, it will always have a spot on my property, just for the butterflies.