Stinging Nettle This plant
is a very interesting plant. When you look at it,
it looks like an ordinary, hairy weed with
attractive little flowers. It can be a very
dangerous plant, however, because when you touch it
with your bare skin, you will get a terrible sting,
which is very painful. When you get this sting it
can be so bad that you might need treatment for it.
If it is a minor sting and you get home quick
enough, you can put some anesthetic cream on it.
The sting feels very much like a bee sting and can
last for hours or days. The stinging sensation is
caused by formic acid which covers the tiny hairs
of the plant. The
stinging nettle grows to a height of 2 to 4 feet.
The slender When the plant flowers in the summer, it has tiny greenish or greenish-white flowers that hang down in clusters just above where the leaves attach to the stem. It flowers from June to September. It reproduces through seeds and a creeping rootstock. Believe it or not, stinging nettle can be very useful too. It has been used as a medicine in Europe for over 2,000 years. It can be turned into a tea made from the leaves and stems. This tea has been used to stop bleeding. Stinging nettle seems to have a lot of medical uses, but the nettle root is known to be a diuretic and to give relief from prostate problems. Stinging nettle can be found growing in Europe and the United States. It can grow up to 3 feet tall in moist, shady spots, in flood plains, woodlands and along streams and river banks. This plant can be found growing in the short grass prairie in North America, but it is common all over the world. by Celeste G. 2000.
bibliography: "The Grassland Biome", http://mbgnet.mobot.org/sets/grasslnd/plants/5.html, (6/4/00). "Nettles", http://www.smartbasic.com/cat.herbs/nettles.c.html, (7/29/00).
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