NETTLE (AS. netcle, nett(', 1)11(7. ne..tila, diminutive of na=a, nettle, Oct.. .Vcssei, Ir. nenaid, nettle. probably conneeted with OPrus. noutiS, Lith. noteff. Litt. nritrrs, 17k. ciii/tcrb nettle). A common name of Crtica, ;1 genus of plants of the natural order Urticacem having unisexual flowers. The species are annual 017 perennial herbs with occasionally shrubby bases, many of them covered with stinging hairs, which emit an avid juice and pierce the skin when touched, often causing much inflammation and pain; when grasped in such a way as to press the hair: to the stem, no stinging ensues. The'-spe cies of a number of distinct genera were formerly included in the genus. especially those having stinging ha it's, as Laportea.Pipturus, and Ponzol zia. Some of these are shrubs or even trees, the giant nettle tree of Australia attaining great size. The sting of East Indian species is much more severe than that of European and American species. rrtica crcnulato or Laporten erenulata is said to produce a sensation to the tinual application of a hot iron, and even after the lapse of several days this may return upon the application of cold water, a sensation more or less pronounced with other species. The roots of nettles, boiled in alum. afford a yellow dye; and the juice of the stalk and leaves has been used to dye woolen stuffs a beautiful amt permanent green. The small nettle (Crtieu (terns) and the great nettle rrtica dioica). introduced European species, are abundant in America. Whatever gives nettles their stinging power is dissipated by boiling. The high value of nettles as food for swine, poul try. and particularly for turkeys, is well known to the peasantry of many countries: the great nettle is eultivated in Sweden for fodder. The seeds are nutritious to poultry, and it is claimed are given to horses by jiwkeys, in order to make them lively when they are to be offered for sale.
The stalks and leave: of nettles are employed in some parts of England for the manufacture of a light kind of beer. called nettle beer. The bast fibre .(1 nettles is used for textile purposes. Yarn and cloth, both of the coarsest and finest de seriptions, ean be made of it. The fibre of r dioica, used by the ancient Egyptians, is still o tuployed in Piedmont and other countries. When wanted for fibre, the plant is cut in mid summer. and treated like 11(.111p. The names nettle yarn and nettle cloth are. however, now com monly given in most parts of Europe to particular linen and cotton falwies. The fibre of rrtieu connabina, a native of the south of Siberia and other middle parts of Asia, is much used; and from other species both fine Mee and strong ropes can be manufactured. The lihre of C rtica japo nica, or Pouzolzia riminca, is much used in Ja pan, and also that of Untica argcnica (or Piptu TUS (IrliOn tens) in the tintilh Sea Islands, and of Urtica gracilis in Canada. Urtieu tube rosa. or Pouzo/..:irt I mlbuluSa, produces nutri tious tubers, which are eaten in India raw, boiled, or roasted. Australia produces a magnificent tree-nettle. La pOr Ca Uigas, abun dant in some parts of New South Wales. which sometimes reaches a height of 141) feet with a trunk. of great thickness, and very large green leaves. which. when young. sting violently. In some places it forms scrub forests, and its sting ing leaves form a great impediment to the traveler. The common nettle tree of the States is a species of Celtic (see /1.1 CK BERRY ) ; the name dead nettle is given to certain species of Lamium, a genus of the order Labiatx. Bo-h nirea, often called false nettle, supplies China grass or ramie (q.v.).