Nettle
Species of nettle
Species in the genus Urtica, and their primary natural ranges, include:
Urtica angustifolia Fisch. ex Hornem. 1819. China, Japan, Korea.
Urtica ardens. China.
Urtica atrichocaulis. Himalaya, southwestern China.
Urtica atrovirens. Western Mediterranean region.
Urtica cannabina L. 1753. Western Asia from Siberia to Iran.
Urtica chamaedryoides (heartleaf nettle). Southeastern North America.
Urtica dioica L. 1753 (stinging nettle or bull nettle). Europe, Asia, North America.
Urtica dubia (large-leaved nettle). Canada.
Urtica ferox (ongaonga or tree nettle). New Zealand.
Urtica fissa. China.
Urtica galeopsifolia Wierzb. ex Opiz, 1825, (fen nettle or stingless nettle). Europe. (Often considered a subspecies of Urtica dioica.)
Urtica gracilenta (mountain nettle). Arizona, New Mexico, west Texas, northern Mexico.
Urtica hyperborea. Himalaya from Pakistan to Bhutan, Mongolia and Tibet, high altitudes.
Urtica incisa (scrub nettle). Australia.
Urtica kioviensis Rogow. 1843. Eastern Europe.
Urtica laetivirens Maxim. 1877. Japan, Manchuria.
Urtica linearifolia. Creeping or Swamp Nettle. New Zealand.
Urtica mairei. Himalaya, southwestern China, northeastern India, Myanmar.
Urtica membranacea. Mediterranean region, Azores.
Urtica morifolia. Canary Islands (endemic).
Urtica parviflora. Himalaya (lower altitudes).
Urtica pilulifera (Roman nettle). Southern Europe.
Urtica platyphylla Wedd. 1856-1857. China, Japan.
Urtica pubescens Ledeb. 1833. Southwestern Russia east to central Asia.
Urtica rupestris. Sicily (endemic).
Urtica sondenii (Simmons) Avrorin ex Geltman, 1988. Northeastern Europe, northern Asia.
Urtica taiwaniana. Taiwan.
Urtica thunbergiana. Japan, Taiwan.
Urtica triangularisa
Urtica urens L. 1753 (dwarf nettle or annual nettle). Europe, North America.
The family Urticaceae also contains some other plants called nettles that are not members of the genus Urtica. These include the wood nettle Laportea canadensis, found in eastern North America from Nova Scotia to Florida, and the false nettle Boehmeria cylindrica, found in most of the United States east of the Rockies. As its name implies, the false nettle does not sting.
Uses and medical properties of nettles
See also: Stinging nettle
Much historical evidence of use of nettles in medicine, folk remedies, cooking and fiber production relate to one species – Urtica dioica, but a fair amount also refers to the use of Urtica urens, the small nettle, which is preferred because it has more stinging hairs per leaf area than the more common species.[citation needed] It may be inappropriate and probably inaccurate to assume that all nettles exhibit similar properties in all cases, but where an action can be attributed to principles found in the species, such as histamine, choline, formic acid and silica, a rational basis for their use is still available.[citation needed] However, the fact that a medical action can be attributed to a single constituent does not imply that the entire plant will have the same action.
Safety
Though the fresh leaves can cause painful stings and acute urticaria, these are rarely seriously harmful, with the possible exception of Urtica ferox, the ongaonga or tree nettle) of New Zealand. Otherwise most species of nettles are extremely safe and some are even eaten as vegetables after being steamed.[citation needed]
Similar stinging plants
Close-up detail of the stinging hairs.
Other members of other genera in the Urticaceae, with powerful stings:
Giant stinging tree (Dendrocnide excelsa)
Gympie (Dendrocnide moroides )
Wood Nettle (Laportea canadensis )
Nettle Tree (Urera baccifera )
There are also plants which can produce stinging sensations but which are unrelated to the Urticaceae:
Dumb cane (Dieffenbachia spp., Araceae)
Cowhage (Mucuna pruriens, Fabaceae)
Bull Nettle or Spurge Nettle (Cnidoscolus stimulosus, Euphorbiaceae)
Ciega-vista (Croton ciliato-glandulosus, Euphorbiaceae)
Stinging Spurge (Jatropha urens L., Euphorbiaceae)
Noseburn (Tragia spp., Euphorbiaceae)
Nilgiri Nettle (Girardinia leschenaultiana)
Similarly named plants
Plants with common names include the word “nettle” but which do not sting nor are they part of Urticacea’:
Dead-nettle (Lamium spp.) and hedge-nettle (Stachys spp.) which are in the Lamiaceae or mint family.
Devil’s nettle, which is another name for yarrow.
Carolina horsenettle (Solanum carolinense) in the Solanaceae.
Spurge-nettle (Cnidolscolus stimulosus) in the Euphorbiaceae.
See also
Mopiko, a nettle rash cream
Rumex, Dock leaves for sting easement and nullification of longer term effects
Poison oak, Poison ivy, Poison sumac
Footnotes
^ Connor, H.E. (1977). The Poisonous Plants in New Zealand. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 99. ISSN 0077-916X
^ *Fu H Y, Chen S J, Chen R F, Ding W H, Kuo-Huang L L, Huang R N (2006). Identification of oxalic acid and tartaric acid as major persistent pain-inducing toxins in the stinging hairs of the nettle, Urtica thunbergiana. Annals of Botany (London), 98:57-65. Abstract
^ Rohde, M. (1988-2006). “Guide to Contact-Poisonous Plants”. mic-ro.com. http://mic-ro.com/plants/#dir. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
References
Anderberg, Kirsten (2005). Folk uses and history of medicinal uses of nettles. Nettles, Nettles, Everywhere
Chrubasik S, Enderlein W, Bauer R, Grabner W. (1997). Evidence for the antirheumatic effectiveness of herba Urticae dioicae in acute arthritis: A pilot study. Phytomedicine 4: 105-108.
Dathe G, Schmid H. (1987). Phytotherapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH): Double-blind study with extract of root of urtica (ERU). Urologe B 27: 223-226 [in German].
Holden, Margaret (1948). “An alkali-producing mechanism in macerated leaves”. Biochemical Journal 42 (3): 332336. http://www.pubmedcentral.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=1258718&blobtype=pdf. Retrieved 2006-09-25.
Kirchhoff HW. (1983). Brennesselsaft als Diuretikum. Z. Phytother. 4: 621-626 [in German].
Krzeski T, Kazn M, Borkowski A, et al. (1993). Combined extracts of Urtica dioica and Pygeum africanum in the treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia: double-blind comparison of two doses. Clinical Therapy 15 (6): 1011-1020.
Mittman, P. (1990). Randomized, double-blind study of freeze-dried Urtica dioica in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. Planta Med 56: 44-47.
Randall C, Randall H, Dobbs F, et al. (2000). Randomized controlled trial of nettle sting for treatment of base-of-thumb pain. J. Roy. Soc. Med. 93: 305-309. reported online in British Medical Journal
Weigend M, Luebert F. (2009). Weeding the nettles I: Clarifying species limits in perennial, rhizomatous Urtica (Urticaceae) from southern and central Chile and Argentina. Phytotaxa 2: 1-12.
Yarnell E. (1998). Stinging nettle: A modern view of an ancient healing plant. Alt. Compl. Therapy 4: 180-186 (review).
Healthy Life Magazine, Inc. (June 2007) p.78
External links
Flora Europaea: Urtica from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh website
Flora of North America: Urtica from efloras.org
Flora of China: Urtica from efloras.org
Database search for Nettle from Plants for a Future
Urtica from the HerbalGram and American Botanical Council website
Categories: Medicinal plants | Urticaceae | Leaf vegetablesHidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from February 2010 | Articles contradicting other articles | Articles with unsourced statements from December 2009 | Articles lacking in-text citations from February 2010 | All articles lacking in-text citations
I am a professional writer from China Manufacturers, which contains a great deal of information about $keyword_li, welcome to visit!
