wild stinging nettles.........( urtica dioica )

several weeks ago I was blessed with a big ass basket of nutrient rich wild stinging nettles from my dear friend and nationally acclaimed forager and life-long member of the american mycological society, ms. veronica williams… she says that she gathered this bunch of nettles from an area close to the mouth of the columbia river on the oregon side close to astoria- that is ALL the info she would give up…..! for days after I cursed her for the stinging itch my forearms went through to make the seasons’ first nettle soup…. Nettles happen to be one of my all time favorite wild edibles…. And one of the most nutrient dense of all early season wild edibles… if the season is cooperating one can harvest nettles in the chilly month of february, at sea level that is…. As any forager knows, though, this plant is called stinging nettle for a good reason… when one touches the leaves, the tips of the sharp, hollow hairs penetrate the skin and brake, depositing a toxin… the result is a painful burning or stinging, along with a localized rash… although the young leaves do not seem to sting as much as the more mature ones, the sensation is not a pleasant one in any fricken case… my forearms still itch…..! this stinging quality was once employed by the quileute seal hunters, who would rub themselves with nettles before going out to sea, to help keep them awake through the night… the indigenous peoples of western washington state (where I am now) used nettle leaves, stems, and roots medicinally: a tonic was prepared from any and all of those parts, to reduce the pain and discomfort of rheumatism, colds, headaches and childbirth… the habitat for thriving nettles is deep rich soil and near moisture, frequently shady; sea level to low mountains; extremely abundant in the pacific northwest…. grows throughout most of north america though, I have found nettles in virginia, north carolina, south carolina, tennessee, new hampshire, vermont and maine….. urtica comes from the latin uro, ‘to burn,’ because of the nettle’s stinging hairs, dioica means that the male and female flowers are on separate plants, though in general this is not true of nettles found in the pacific northwest…