May be you know François Couplan. He his an ethnobotanist, well knowed in France, has published about 30 books and loves nettles. As I asked his point of view on this subject, he replied this :

“Personally, I don’t use nettle as “medicinal plant”, but as food for body and mind, reminding the words of Hippocrates “Be your food your medicine”.
“Nettle shows “balancing” properties, more than “refreshing” or “heating”, which is not the lower of its virtues. Indeed, it brings to the body all the elements that it needs, without influencing it by the presence of an aromatic oil, nor by showing itself too waterry”.
“What does concern its use in northern or southern countries, the simple explanation is that stinging nettle, Urtica dioïca, rare in mediterranean countries, is all together the best, easier useful and more frequent than the various mediterranean species, U.atrovirens, menbranacea, pilulifera etc”.

Excuse me for the poor quality of the translation.
I hope that this will improve your opinion about nettles.

Sincerely

Yves

Yes, energetically, I think Nettle leaf is cooling (although Culpeper and some Galenic influenced herbalists have sometimes classified it as hot, mostly due to its sting I believe), rather inherent to it’s mineral-rich nature. Many traditional wild greens are cooling, really, and are traditional “blood cleansers” or alteratives for use in spring after a long winter with little fresh food. People in Northern Europe use lots of cooling medicines/foods, and I would imagine that due to the short growing season, they gathered and used whatever was prolific and available. There’s lots of warming plants in southern Europe as well, that are used quite often…. Thyme and Rosemary are both certainly warming, but frequently used in warm climates as medicine and food… more importantly, they’re diffusive diaphoretics which helps keep circulation moving and assists the body in self-regulating temperature, just as with Cayenne. Likewise, while Nettle is cooling, it is also nourishing and building, very important for long winters.

Thanks for the article, wish I could read French!

Best,
Kiva

For “Lemon” who was concerned about look-alikes, there is a common weed in the deep south called “nettles” — can’t tell you how many people tell me they are eating and making infusions with this plant! Heh. It’s not toxic, but it’s also not particularly beneficial and it does sting. The lovely little star-shaped flower is the giveaway that you have “spurge nettle” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spurge_nettle.

You won’t see true (European) nettles growing wild in the deep south, but we do have the closely related Urtica chamaedryoides, which can be used just like U.dioica. But this plant is so small, it’s hard to collect enough or to even SEE the seeds! Better to just start growing your own patch of U.dioica if you can.

Green blessings all, Florida Susan

Having never met Laportea, I haven’t the slightest idea. I suggest asking on the Herbwifery forum.

From everything I have read Urtica dioica and Laportea canadensis leaves and roots can be used in the same ways. Can the seeds as well?

For propogation purposes, yes, I would think the brown seeds would be quite adequate. Male from female before flowering or during?

You’re very welcome, thank you for reading!

Any help would be appreciated, I rely quite a bit on store-bought tea for adrenal support but would prefer to pick or cultivate it myself.

Thanks so much for sharing!

Lemon

The leaves are generally regarded as a potential kidney irritant after they flower, so no, I do not use them medicinally at that time.

Usually though, post-seeding, when the weather cools down a bit, the nettles will send new green shoots up perfect for medicine or food. This is more likely if you keep a patch trimmed. So I usually get two eating seasons each year, one in the spring and one in fall. It will probably vary from place to place.

You’re very welcome, thanks so much for reading!

Thank you Kiva for your abundant wisdom and willingness to share!