# Are there nettles in North America? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101 "2011-11-06T21:25:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/1 "2011-11-06T21:25:04Z")
Well? Do you have nettles? Or just Poison Oak and Poison Ivy? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/2 "2011-11-06T21:26:47Z")
We do have plants called nettles, though I think they might be unrelated to the plant called that in Europe. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/3 "2011-11-06T21:29:22Z")
Yes, and they sting ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/4 "2011-11-06T21:41:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > We do have plants called nettles, though I think they might be unrelated to the plant called that in Europe. Looks like the most common nettle, the [stinging nettle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle), is the same in both continents. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/5 "2011-11-06T21:42:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > We do have plants called nettles, though I think they might be unrelated to the plant called that in Europe. My wild food sources suggest they’re the same - Urtica spp - including the common nettle Urtica dioica ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/6 "2011-11-06T21:44:28Z")
Yes, we have nettles. They are nasty but not as nasty as poison ivy or poison oak. I still have a rash from a poison oak encounter two months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/7 "2011-11-06T22:30:25Z")
What is the range of nettles in the US? Because the first time I ever (unwittingly) encountered them was on a visit to Ireland. I had never seen stinging nettles like that in the US. (And I have traveled very widely within the US.) ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/8 "2011-11-06T22:37:46Z")
lots and lots of nettles where I live (coastal CA). Nettles require moisture and prefer high-nitrogen soils – common on compost heaps and manure piles, in stream beds, and sites of abandoned houses. OP maY have traveled widelY but obviouslY never bushwhacked down a Pacific coastal stream. Memorable. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/9 "2011-11-06T22:40:34Z")
I often read of nettle tea. 1. How are the nettles gathered and prepared, without the person being stung? 2. Why doesn’t the tea sting the mouth? ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/10 "2011-11-06T23:00:56Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I often read of nettle tea. > > 1. How are the nettles gathered and prepared, without the person being stung? > > 2. Why doesn’t the tea sting the mouth? Nettles have hollow hairs on them that contain histamines. These hairs penetrate the skin on contact, which causes a burning sensation. The histamines can be removed or deactivated by soaking or cooking. I assume that people use gloves when gathering nettles. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/11 "2011-11-06T23:03:26Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > What is the range of nettles in the US? Because the first time I ever (unwittingly) encountered them was on a visit to Ireland. I had never seen stinging nettles like that in the US. (And I have traveled very widely within the US.) We had plenty of them where I grew up in Louisiana. I got stung by them a bunch of times growing up. In Ireland, to they tell you to pee on your legs if you walk through them? That is what we were always told. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/12 "2011-11-06T23:17:06Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > We had plenty of them where I grew up in Louisiana. I got stung by them a bunch of times growing up. In Ireland, to they tell you to pee on your legs if you walk through them? That is what we were always told. In the UK I was told to rub a dock leaf on it. Was probably a load of bollocks. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/13 "2011-11-06T23:35:47Z")
Bah, call those nettles? I give you the fearsome [Ongaonga](http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevex2/4499455164/)of New Zealand, with a sting that can kill horses. Here’s another [page](http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/poisonous-plants-and-fungi/1/3) that links to a medical report from 1993: > [@](#): > > At around 9am while descending into a small clearing, he slipped on wet grass, and fell into a tree nettle known as ongaonga, Urtica ferox. He was scratched about the legs, face and hands. Within the first 15–20 minutes he began to experience severe abdominal cramps, and thereafter a terrible burning sensation in his feet, and visual blurring. > > By the time he reached camp at 10.30am, he was weak, confused and pale, sweating profusely, salivating, and beginning to struggle for breath. His companions report his ability to hold a cup was grossly impaired by shaking. He was writhing in agony from cramps. He became hypothermic despite multiple layers of woollen clothing, a mountain-down sleeping bag, and fires being lit in an attempt to warm him. He was unable to speak clearly, but denied hallucinations or loss of consciousness. He did not sleep until midnight, when he began to feel a little warmer. > > Before dawn he attempted to leave the tent to pass urine, but was unable to stand or control his lower limbs, falling repeatedly. His companions came to his rescue, and replaced him in his bag. He was now freezing cold after exposure to the -5° C temperatures, and again experienced extreme difficulty breathing. ---
**Author:** ![hibernicus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hibernicus/32/2802_2.png) [@hibernicus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hibernicus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/14 "2011-11-06T23:56:20Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > In the UK I was told to rub a dock leaf on it. Was probably a load of bollocks. Probably. I was told that as a child too (in Ireland). I got stung by nettles a lot as a child, and never found the dock leaf remedy to be in any way effective (except for the brief cooling effect of rubbing any large leaf on your skin). ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/15 "2011-11-07T00:03:08Z")
We certainly have them here in Wisconsin. I’ve eaten the leaves cooked as greens, and also had nettle tea. Cooked, they resembled something like collard greens, and the tea was surprisingly pleasant. [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stinging_nettle) states they are native to every U.S. state except Hawaii. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/16 "2011-11-07T00:03:28Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > What is the range of nettles in the US? Because the first time I ever (unwittingly) encountered them was on a visit to Ireland. I had never seen stinging nettles like that in the US. (And I have traveled very widely within the US.) They are common in Western WA ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/17 "2011-11-07T00:04:04Z")
Nettles are everywhere here in the Pacific Northwest. And I always tell my kids to rub a dock leaf on their nettle stings. It’s a decent placebo. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/18 "2011-11-07T01:09:35Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I often read of nettle tea. > > 1. How are the nettles gathered and prepared, without the person being stung? > > 2. Why doesn’t the tea sting the mouth? I used to work at a camp most summers. As the nature center person, it was my responsibility to gather stinging nettle to show the kids what not to touch. I used heavy leather gloves. Probably latex gloves would be sufficient for prep. I don’t recommend gathering this way, but the top of the leaves don’t have stingers and you can touch them (I believe… there may have been some along the main vein. I’m sure somebody will be by to correct me) This was near Big Bear in California and they were only around the various creeks. I ended up grabbing some one time when I slipped on a steep trail. It stings like a --beep–. Supposedly you can rub mud or [mugwort](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_douglasiana) on it to kill the sting. I recommend the medicinal spray. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/19 "2011-11-07T01:10:38Z")
I live in New York State, and I had a crop of nettles from birdseed, I think, that grew in a planter on my deck. The flowers were all dead, so I was pulling them out and unbeknownst to me, grabbed a nettle plant. Jumped up Jesus on a skateboard, it was like being stung by a dozen bees! Hurt like HELL! :eek: I actually called a horticulturist at the university who had a gardening show on the radio and described it, and he said it was probably a stinging nettle. So I looked it up and yeah - that was the culprit…Very interesting information on this plant in the wikipedia article. It has many uses other than causing extreme pain. ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101/20 "2011-11-07T01:28:42Z")
I never heard of them, and we ran through the woods as kids without much care. Of course, ticks were just being talked about and a little later came word of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (all c. late 70s-80s). Then, Lyme’s disease came along. In short, just because I never heard of them doesn’t prove they didn’t exist in my neck of the woods. Now, my daughter is growing up in a neighboring state (about about 75 miles away) was warned of stinging nettles (c. 2005-2008). Go figure! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-nettles-in-north-america/602101.md?page=2)