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Grasping the Nettle

© Audrey Stallsmith

We call a nettle but a nettle and the faults of fools but folly.
(Shakespeare: Coriolanus II, i)

Shakespeare's characters seem to have shared a common prejudice against the nettle, Cordelia listing it among the "idle weeds." When, as children, my siblings and I brushed painfully up against the plant in our nitrogen-rich barnyard, we would have agreed with the assessment--plus probably throwing in a few stronger adjectives!

And all of us were wrong. The nettle is actually one of the least idle weeds in history. It was supposedly introduced into England by the macho Romans, who brought it along to help keep them warm.

The original "netel" derives from "noedl" or "needle." This may have referred to the plant's needle-like sting. But it may equally well have referred to the fact that, before flax became popular, the northern European countries used the nettle plant as the source for most of their thread.

I remember a certain Hans Christian Anderson tale about a princess and eleven swans. The swans were, as you may recall, her brothers who had been trapped by an evil spell in the birds' bodies. That spell could only be broken if the princess made each of them a coat from nettles, and didn't utter a word the whole time she was doing it. Back when I first heard the story, the unlikelihood of fashioning cloth out of those evil weeds added to the magic of the idea for me. But now I discover that it was really quite a common practice.

The poet, Campbell, commented that "In Scotland, I have eaten nettles, I have slept in nettle sheets, and I have dined off a nettle tablecloth. The young and tender nettle is an excellent potherb. The stalks of the old nettle are as good as flax for making cloth. I have heard my mother say that she thought nettle cloth more durable than any other species of linen."

Germany and Austria, in fact, reverted to the plant during World War I when their supply of cotton ran low. They often mixed it with a small amount of ramie. Ramie, frequently used in sweaters these days, is actually a tropical member of the nettle family.

Some of you may have gotten distracted by another use that Campbell indicated. "Eat nettles?" I can almost hear you exclaim. Yes, the nettle is a very nutritious and blood-purifying spring green when cooked like spinach. You should be careful to harvest it, however, when it is only six to eight inches tall--and to wear gloves for the process! You should never eat the mature plant, since it will be gritty with crystals. The nettle was so popular as a spring vegetable in Scotland that it was often forced under glass, then combined with leeks and broccoli, cabbage, or brussel sprouts in a rice pudding.