IrritantEdible cooked
Stinging nettle
Urtica dioica
Opposite toothed leaves, stinging hairs. Excellent cooked green and fiber plant.
- Marks
- Opposite leaves; sting; hanging green flowers
- Size
- 2–6 ft
- Habitat
- Nitrogen-rich edges, creek terraces, old barn lots.
- Season
- April–September; best as food before flowering.
- Frequency
- common
Upright square-ish stems with opposite, deeply toothed leaves and tiny green flower strings. Hollow hairs inject formic acid and histamine.
Uses
Cooked like spinach; dried for tea; stems for strong cordage.
If this is the one
Jewelweed, mud, or tape to pull hairs. Cooking or drying destroys the sting.
Lookalikes
White snakeroot
Ageratina altissima
Shade wildflower that makes milk poisonous. Caused milk sickness on the Indiana frontier.
ToxicDo not eat