Help me properly ID stinging nettle - Help a brother out?

Victor Bonjour wrote:Could it be a stingless nettle?

I've never seen one though, all of my nettles sting from the day they get out of the ground.

Ken Grunke wrote: An alternative to peeing on yourself would be a water & baking soda paste.

Jordan Lowery wrote:Gary I'm curious to see a photo of what you think is nettle.

You really shouldn't be looking for plants that sting but plants that look like nettle. It should look like the ones in the " stingless nettle" link. It should have little " barbs" on top of the leaf as well as below and on the stem.

Photos will help tremendously.

Rick Roman wrote: I, too, have been trying to identify different species of nettle ( and there are many, many species). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nettle


I couldn't find any Stinging Nettles (Urtica dioica) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle on my property, so I started some from seed

purchased from Horizon Herbs located in Oregon. https://www.horizonherbs.com/product.asp?specific=614#

thanks!

Part of me wants to avoid buying seed because I am being a bit stubbon on this, since I hear its so common, and also because from what I have read, starting it from seed is apparently difficult, so I'd be interested to see how it work(ed) out for you.

Victor Bonjour wrote:Could it be a stingless nettle?

I've never seen one though, all of my nettles sting from the day they get out of the ground.

Philip Green wrote:Not sure where you are.

Philip Green wrote:But false nettle is quite common throughout the Eastern US at least (maybe other places as well). Unfortunately it is not nearly as useful as true nettles. http://www.muhlenberg.edu/cultural/graver/collections/wetlandplants/False%20Nettle.htm

My rule of thumb is always if it stings it is a nettle, if it doesn't then it is not as there are quite a few look-alikes (at least in Ohio). The stinging if from a needle actually poking into your skin and it is impossible to be immune to them. The severity of the reaction to the poison it injects may vary, but everyone should feel the needle penetrating the skin if it is a true nettle.

Gary Briane Tuttle wrote:

Philip Green wrote:Not sure where you are.

Waterbury, CT zip 06705, definitely eastern US.

Philip Green wrote:But false nettle is quite common throughout the Eastern US at least (maybe other places as well). Unfortunately it is not nearly as useful as true nettles. http://www.muhlenberg.edu/cultural/graver/collections/wetlandplants/False%20Nettle.htm

My rule of thumb is always if it stings it is a nettle, if it doesn't then it is not as there are quite a few look-alikes (at least in Ohio). The stinging if from a needle actually poking into your skin and it is impossible to be immune to them. The severity of the reaction to the poison it injects may vary, but everyone should feel the needle penetrating the skin if it is a true nettle.

yeah, that was my concern. I may be getting stuck, as the stingers (trichomes?) are relatively small, but no poison itchyness, as I got back in my youth as of yet. So, tyhe false nettles and stingless nettles seem to be different plants (and therefore, different levels of usefulness to humans), though?

I will get some pics and/or videos today and post them

Thanks!

Philip Green wrote:You could find a friend to test it on...

dan long wrote:If nettles are wet, they wont sting. If you grip them firmly, they will not sting. Are you perhaps testing them out after a rain? Maybe you are grabbing htem as opposed to brushing against them (the may most of us get stung)

John Polk wrote:I just heard from an in law who was raised on a Tulalip Reservation about a cure for the itch of the stinging nettle.
It works here in the Cascade region, because everywhere you encounter wild nettles, you also find the cure:

Remove the brown spores from under the leaves of the ferns, and rub them on the itchy skin. The sting is soon gone.

dan long wrote:If you grip them firmly, they will not sting.

Grasping the nettle can work, but only sometimes. It critically depends on both your technique, and on how stingy the nettles are.

Dan Boone wrote:

dan long wrote:If you grip them firmly, they will not sting.

I recently stumbled across a link where someone attempted several experiments to test whether this was true. His conclusion:

Grasping the nettle can work, but only sometimes. It critically depends on both your technique, and on how stingy the nettles are.

It is said that nettles will make brassicas sweeter - and I have found this to be true.