Wild, this county
Stinging nettle
Urtica dioica
Mineral tea. The spring tonic that actually tastes like food once cooked.
Pick with gloves. Do not use the stringing mature plant for tea. Seeds later in the year are a different, stronger medicine — skip them unless you already know them.
- Part used
- Young tops in spring; dried leaf later
- Gather
- Gloves. Rich damp ground, April–May before it flowers. Dry it and the sting dies.
- Tea
- 1 Tbsp dried leaf, just-off-boil, covered 10 minutes or a long overnight infusion in a jar.
- Tincture
- Fresh tops 1:2. Some people use it for hay-fever season — results vary. Food first.
Recipes
Nettle infusion
Spring mineral jar. Food-like, not a cold cure, but the cup people miss when the greens are gone.