White dead-nettle | The Wildlife Trusts (2024)

FAQs

What is White Dead-nettle good for? ›

It is used to make medicine. People use white dead nettle flower for conditions such as eczema, sore throat (pharyngitis), abnormally heavy bleeding during menstrual periods (menorrhagia), and many others, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.

White dead-nettle is a common plant of roadside verges, waste grounds and grassy banks - anywhere the ground has been disturbed. Like yellow archangel, and other members of the dead-nettle family, it doesn't have stinging leaves. Its white flowers appear from March right the way through to December.

As a medicinal herb, purple dead nettle has astringent, purgative, diuretic, and diaphoretic properties. It's also anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial. Fresh leaves can be applied to wounds as a poultice. You can also enjoy fresh or dry leaves as a tea.

The dead nettles do not sting, both white dead nettles and red dead nettles are quite common flowers. White dead nettles (Lamium album) are somewhat larger, more 'vigorous' plants (20 - 60 cm high) than the red nettles (10 - 30 cm high).

White dead-nettles have a mild and pleasant taste with notes of unripe, green hazelnuts. The white flowers are delicately sweet, with a succulent flavor of nectar and honey. The stem is crisp and snappy, and its leaves and flowers are tender. Served raw, the fresh plant can leave the mouth feeling a bit dry.

Purple dead nettle (Lamium purpureum) might seem a benign wildflower, but for some, it's a trigger for allergic reactions. Individuals with a sensitivity to plant pollen are particularly at risk when this invasive weed pollinates in spring. Symptoms like itchy eyes, sneezing, and a runny nose can be troublesome.

Stalwarts of the shade garden, Dead Nettles are tough plants, offering a variety of foliage colors and textures. Evergreen in mild winter climates, they are deer resistant.

In the past, Deadnettle was used as a diuretic and there are claims that it can help with kidney stones as well. Some people tincture it and use it as a seasonal allergy remedy, because it acts as an antihistimine. Like Henbit, many also claim that it has an energy boosting effect as well.

The leaves and flowers can be eaten sparingly in salads or as a garnish, or cooked in soups, stir-fries etc. It's quite pubescent (obtusely worded for hairy) so I like to mix it with other greens or cook it to mask its texture.

Stinging Nettles have long hairs on their stems, whereas a White Dead-nettle will only have short hairs. White Dead-nettles have distinctive white flowers. The flowers have a large hood and a flat lower lip for insects to land on. The flowers are connected to the stems via a long white tube, called a corolla.

Can dead nettle make you sick? ›

Dead Nettle, a seemingly innocuous plant, harbors a hidden menace for certain individuals. This allergen poses a risk primarily to those with a predisposition to pollen allergies. As the plant blooms, releasing its pollen into the air, it becomes a trigger for allergic rhinitis, commonly known as hay fever.

Is dead-nettle edible or poisonous? Dead-nettle can be grown in the garden without hesitation, as all parts of the plant are non-toxic. This edible wild herb is also popular in the kitchen as well as in natural medicine.

In the past, Deadnettle was used as a diuretic and there are claims that it can help with kidney stones as well. Some people tincture it and use it as a seasonal allergy remedy, because it acts as an antihistimine. Like Henbit, many also claim that it has an energy boosting effect as well.

Stinging Nettles have long hairs on their stems, whereas a White Dead-nettle will only have short hairs. White Dead-nettles have distinctive white flowers. The flowers have a large hood and a flat lower lip for insects to land on. The flowers are connected to the stems via a long white tube, called a corolla.

Extraction: the white nettle, from the Lamiaceae family, is native to Europe. It is known for its pharmacological properties. Benefits: it has remnants of essential oils, mucilages, catechic tannins, flavonoids, choline and a saponoside. Its application calms the skin and has antioxidant properties.

Like most powdery mildews, it is easily recognised, with prominent patches of white powdery asexual sporulation usually on the upper epidermis of leaves, and often also coating the stem. Equally common on the red dead-nettles listed above is the downy mildew Peronospora lamii.