Stinging nettle

Urtica dioica

Historical tradition – not medical advice, and no health or healing claims. more

Historical botanical drawing: Stinging — Stinging

Tradition (Hildegard's writings)

In Hildegard's tradition, stinging nettle was associated with metabolism and memory.

Ingredients

The young herb and leaves, and the juice pressed from them; constituents include silica, vitamin C, B vitamins, bioflavonoids and chlorophyll.

Note

The fresh plant carries stinging hairs containing formic acid and histamine. The tradition does not use the herb raw, only young and cooked.

Botanical background

The stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) gave the nettle family its name. The common nettle is a dioecious perennial that can grow well over a metre tall, while the annual small nettle reaches only 10 to 40 centimetres. The young herb and the juice pressed from it are the parts chiefly used; the leaves contain silica, vitamin C, B vitamins, bioflavonoids and chlorophyll, and the stinging hairs hold formic acid and histamine. Hildegard calls the plant very warm in the Physica, describing it as too coarse to eat raw but suitable as food when young and cooked. Elsewhere she notes the dried root as a winter addition to milk, the fresh summer herb being considered too full of sap for that purpose.

Sources & references

Hildegard von Bingen: Heilsame Schöpfung. Die natürliche Wirkkraft der Dinge (Physica). Hrsg. von der Abtei St. Hildegard, Eibingen. Beuroner Kunstverlag 2012 (4. Auflage 2024). Cap. 1-100.
Strehlow, Wighard: Die Hildegard-Naturapotheke. Heilmittel und Rezepte von A bis Z. Knaur Verlag 2014.
Strehlow, Wighard: Der Hildegard-Kompass. Die wichtigsten Heilmittel und Anwendungen. Knaur Verlag 2014.

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More preparations using Stinging

Nettle Juice and Hemp Compress Nettle Leaves Nettle Oil

Historical tradition. The above describes how this preparation was recorded and used in the tradition of Hildegard of Bingen. This is cultural-historical information, not medical advice and not a health or healing claim, and it is no substitute for advice from a doctor or pharmacist. If you have health complaints, please consult your doctor or pharmacy.

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