Zanemvula Traditional Healing 
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Urtica urens

Urtica urens

Afrikaans: Brandnetel

English :  Stinging nettle

IsiXhosa:


Description and diagnostic features   

        This is the small indigenous stinging nettle.  It has a serious sting. It is one of those things one would rather not have to weed out by hand while growing vegetables. The leaves are dark green, hairy and fairly round.



Part used: Leaves and stems.


Uses:

It is the most incredible blood detoxifier in the body when used as a tea, extract of just plain dried powder. Fresh it can be washed and used in salads. It makes potent spinach. Being rich in Iron it is a natural organic iron supplement. It gives your liver a rest by detoxing and coagulating the toxins in the blood.  Once the toxins are coagulated the kidneys can get rid of them. It stimulates urine production too. It is a wonderful treatment for both arthritic poisoning and the ravages of Herpes zoster.


Warning:

There is just one little thing to watch out for. If you are suffering from arthritis or gout or any of those toxic conditions, then creating too much sludge at a time can block up your kidneys. So start slowly. Burnett the famous Mr Nettle established many years ago that not more than five drops of a nettle tincture every two hours is ideal for getting rid of the initial flood of toxins.


Habitat

Always found where there is an over abundance of Iron in the soil. In iron poor areas it is to be found under the iron scrap metal pile on the farm.



Propagation

Grows well from seed in iron rich soil. Scrape out soil from where a roll of wire has been lying rusting away. Add any other rusting iron nails etc to your planting area.