This past twelvemonth , we had a mystery works growing in our garden that I could n’t identify . After pore through every Scripture I had on the shelf , I got on a pop social media land site that unite botanists from around the macrocosm and share some of the plant ’s characteristics . The most coarse guess was that I was trying to identifynettles . Now , anyone who sleep together me know I am familiar with nettles . I love them ! There is no way I would be ineffective to identify a species of nettle — or so I mean .
I had to take that the leave look similar to my nettle industrial plant , the stalk was similarly square , but , and this was my smoking gun , the plant didnotsting . I affirm over and over on the group that I was not growing nettle . At some gunpoint in the discussion , an expert out of England stepped up and explained to me that a deficiency of stings was not needs a valid way to rule out the plant ’s nettle - ness . In fact , there is a metal money of nettle thatdoes not sting . What a revelation ! I had no thought , but that ’s one of the fun thing about plants : They are constantly give us a understanding to stay lowly .
More On The Sting-less Nettle
Fen nettle ( Urtica galeopsifolia ) is come up in a bewilderingly varying set of environment in England . It is found in both crocked and dry grounds and nicety and open prairie . It is still , as far as I can find as of this writing , a bit confusing to botanists . It is debate either a subspecies of the common North AmericanUrtica dioicaor a separate species all its own . The parting ofU. galeopsifoliaare longer and thinner , and the flowers seem to be just a bit different . The most famous difference that is detectable with the human eye is the lack of sting ability .
A Health Boost From Nettles
My husband and I were stir by the estimation that we might be growing a change of nettle that could provide health benefits like to our native nettles with a potential for greater informality of harvest . Nettles are in high spirits in minerals , iron most notably , and are well - make out in build the term of the blood . It is popular for the discussion of anemia and in support of reproductive health . It is also a supportive industrial plant for the health of the urinary tract .
The Difference Between The Two
In the end , our plant was n’t marsh nettle but a different introduction from England , and perhaps , in the end , that ’s a good thing . While there are only a few visual difference of opinion between fen nettle and the stinging variety , there is a more pronounced difference under the microscope . Fen nettle has a unlike chromosome tally : U. diocais a triploid while fen nettle is a diploid , mean the water - to - fibre ratio of these plants is different and leading me to believe there could also be a difference in the plants ’ medicinal constituents . I struggle to find definitive proof that fen nettle is used interchangeably withU. dioica . At some point , this stingless nettle may very well skip over the pond and show up in my backyard , and when that happens , I ’ll have to experiment with it . Until then , I ’m glad jazz my native nettle , con game and all !
