Less Sting Stinging Nettle Seeds

Fewer stinging hairs are found on Less Sting compared to other nettles. From the top of the leaf there are almost no stinging hairs. The  petioles and stems still contain robust hairs that sting but not the leaf. Grown from a rooted cuttings, Less Sting was a clone found on my farm of the nettles found as wild and uncultivated. The leaves are longer and quite distinct compared to seedlings grown from the cultivated seeds sold by most if not all seed companies. This particular plant grown from cuttings maintained its low to no stinging hairs. From seed, I am not sure if it comes true or not however I did find other seedlings with much lower count originating from the first clone. Stinging nettles spread by rhizomes and are great bioacummulators if you can tolerate their pernicious growth habits and stinging stems and leaves. On the other side of the coin is once their job is complete they die off very quickly. I till them under as sort of green manure crop which then lowers their density. 

Once cooked or dried, the stinging disappears completely. Nettles taste a lot like spinach. High in vitamin A and C, calcium, magnesium and potassium, nettles have been used for poor circulation, to treat prostate cancer (the root), diarrhea, and hay fever, to name a few. Nettle is listed in the top 5 plants used by Native Americans as a fiber plant. Spreads quickly by rhizomes which can be an issue if you are hoping for a constrained version of this. "Less Sting' is not.  Harvest the greens in spring when 6-12 inches tall or pluck leaves from the stem or cut with scissors.  

Seeds are available rarely.