Roger Phillips

Stinging Nettle

Appears in
top 1000Wild Food
Wild Food

By Roger Phillips

Published 1986

  • About

Urtica dioica A perennial herb, abundant and generally distributed throughout the British Isles, it occurs in hedgebanks, woods, grassy places, fens, and near buildings, especially where the ground is covered with litter or rubble. It flowers from May to October but should be picked by the beginning of June as in high summer the leaves become coarse in texture and bitter in taste, due to a chemical change.

The best time to collect them is when the young shoots are no more than a few centimetres high. Pick the whole of these shoots or, if gathering later in the year, just the tops and the young, pale green leaves. Wear gloves and cut the nettles with scissors, laying them tidily in a basket to facilitate sorting later on. During the summer suitable vegetation may be available where earlier growth has been cut back and a second crop of stems is growing. Before cooking, remove any tough stems and wash well.