Purple Dead Nettle

Pictures here:

http://flowers-macrophotography.blogspot.com/2010/04/purple-deadnet...

Supposed to have anti-oxidants, vitamins, iron

Leaves can staunch wounds, but I have plenty of plantain growing alongside it!

astringent, diuretic, purgative, styptic and tonic

promotes perspiration, acts on kidneys, laxative

I saw one person commenting that it gave them a stomachache.

It tastes like grass. But not really bad. I suppose you could hide it in a bite of salad, or put it in a smoothie!

http://heal-thyself.ning.com/group/wildcrafting/forum/topics/purple-deadnettle

That is Lamium purpureum, a mint family plant known as purple dead nettle. You may wonder: Why eat it? Because it is said to be high in a number of nutrients including antioxidants, those cancer-busting compounds we can all use more of! I have been into putting it in my smoothies ever since I read this piece by a Tennessee homesteader. I blend it because the fuzzy texture and bland, grassy flavor does not make for awesome eating as a whole plant. (That said, with a little creativity, anything is possible.)

You may also wonder: Why is a living plant called dead? Good question! It’s called “dead” nettle because it won’t sting you, as opposed to stinging nettle, Urtica, which infamously will. The two plants are not closely related but they do look sort of similar, whatwith the square stems and opposite leaves and so on. Urtica is that formic-acid wielding superfood that zaps you with little stingers when you get too close. Within two weeks, it’s going to be Urtica harvest time, and I’m going to attempt to make some delicious raw stinging nettle pesto. But I digress — let’s return now to purple dead nettle, whose annual 15 minutes of fame is upon us. Hurry with this one — it does not stick around and will be gone before late spring!

You can harvest dead nettle with abandon because it is an invasive weed from Europe that spreads like mad, much to the chagrin of landscapers and gardeners. Some botanists will dispute whether a given plant that appears to be purple dead nettle might actually be henbit, Lamium amplexicaule, but in terms of edibility there is no meaningful distinction, so munch away and call it whatever you like.

http://firstways.com/2011/02/17/purple-dead-nettle-a-weed-good-to-eat/

The entire plant is edible. The flavor is very mild, grassy - you can eat it stem and all, or pluck off the leafy tops. The leaves are covered in a dense hairy down - and this can take away some from the mild flavor. However you get used to it quickly.

Dead-nettle's reported to be highly nutritious, abundant in iron, vitamins, and fiber. The oil in the seeds is high in antioxidants. And the bruised leaves can be applied to external cuts and wounds to stop bleeding and aid in healing.

One great way to eat large quantities of this plant is to blend it into a smoothie. I'm a firm believer after many years of foraging that greens are the most important part of our diet. But instead of grazing and chewing all day (though chewing is important!), we can mimic an indigenous diet by blending up large amounts of greens and edible weeds into smoothies - the miracle tonic called the 'green smoothie'.

The dead-nettle is now in flower and my daughters and I go to gather a few cups of it for our smoothie:


http://eatingmymoccasinsnow.blogspot.com/2009/02/dead-nettle-lamium-purpureum.html

I lay out my ingredients for the smoothie at home; the dead-nettle, a banana, a mango, and 2 cups of water:

I put everything into a new Cuisinart blender I just picked up ($99 - but it puts out 600 watts, over 3/4 horsepower). Water first, then fruit, then greens:

The finished product was rather watery and not too sweet and slightly gritty from imperfectly blended dead-nettle. So I peeled 6 baby bananas and threw them in. This did the trick. Sweet, rich, a smoothie-like consistency, and with all those weeds, unbelievably mineral-dense and nutritious.

Today is my first day of going back onto raw foods and being a 100% raw vegan again. I'm going to use an abundance of wild edible plants and green smoothies in my diet, and document the process here.

The Green Smoothie
The green smoothie is one of the easiest ways to incorporate wild edible plants in your diet, especially greens. They're very high in fiber and nutrients, and blended up, easy to assimilate.

A simple recipe is 2 to 3 bananas, a cup of water, a mango, and 2 cups of wild greens. If you don't have mango, use an extra banana. Blend it all on high a full minute. Not only does it taste great - it's great for you.

If there's no nearby wild greens, use 2 cups of organic greens - organic here is important because the whole point of the smoothie is minerals and chlorophyll ('the elixir of life') - which is much higher in organic greens than conventionally grown. Greens like chard and kale are easy to grow on your own - even in pots.

If you don't have greens, use a tablespoon of green powder, such as barley or wheat grass. If you've got a manual wheatgrass juicer, juice enough grass for a 1-2 ounce shot and throw that in. Most grass is sweet, and even bitter grass like crabgrass can be sweetened with a little more banana.

Purple dead nettle's health benefits

April 5th, 2010 2:09 pm ET

Purple dead nettle
Photo: BerndH/Wikimedia Commons

Another highly-useful herb that has been suddenly blossoming in copious amounts in the Detroit area of late is purple dead nettle. For some reason, along with several other wildflowers and herbs, this member of the mint family--which is normally widespread anyhow--has been coming up in areas where it hasn't been previously seen, and in greater abundance than ever. Possibly the early hot weather of the past week or so is partially responsible. Whatever the reason, it's great to have such a vast supply now of this and other wonderful free herbs for the picking. As always, of course, make sure before helping yourself to these or other plants that the area has not been sprayed or otherwise treated chemically. Aside from that caveat, it's also a good idea to be certain you are not taking them from private property.

As opposed to stinging nettle, which is capable of delivering a mighty zap to the unfortunate person handling it, purple dead nettle (aka purple archangel, red dead nettle, and red henbit), has no such attack mode, hence the "dead" reference. The flowers and leaves, whether used fresh, crushed, or in a decoction, have a history of being used to stop minor bleeding incidents. As well, the plant is known as a good astringent, applied externally as in the previous case.

For internal use, purple dead nettle can be made into an infusion or (with sweetener of your choice, preferably honey) a tea, and taken orally to induce sweating or as a diuretic. It has a reputation, historically, as being valuable in flushing out the kidneys and spleen of toxins. For women's health issues (ie., menstrual problems) it also can be of help taken internally. According to Culpeper, a famous old herbalist, when crushed and used as a poultice applied to the back of the neck, purple dead nettle can stop a nose-bleed. Other purposes for poultices made from the herb are for sciatica, gout, and various muscular and joint pains.

Being rather high in its content of fiber and iron, purple dead nettle also is beneficial to the diet in general, and can be added as a green to salads, or in soups and stews.

For more information on purple dead nettle and other nettle varieties, see:
http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/n/nettle03.html#pur
http://www.complete-herbal.com/culpepper/completeherbalindex.htm

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1442/

PlantFiles: Red Dead Nettle, Purple Dead Nettle
Lamium purpureum
Family: Lamiaceae (lay-mee-AY-see-ee) (Info)
Genus: Lamium (LAY-mee-um) (Info)
Species: purpureum (pur-PUR-ee-um) (Info)

7 members have or want this plant for trade.

Category:
Perennials

Height:
6-12 in. (15-30 cm)

Spacing:
15-18 in. (38-45 cm)

Hardiness:
USDA Zone 6a: to -23.3 °C (-10 °F)
USDA Zone 6b: to -20.5 °C (-5 °F)
USDA Zone 7a: to -17.7 °C (0 °F)
USDA Zone 7b: to -14.9 °C (5 °F)
USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2 °C (10 °F)
USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4 °C (15 °F)
USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6 °C (20 °F)
USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 °C (25 °F)

Sun Exposure:
Sun to Partial Shade

Danger:
Unknown - Tell us

Bloom Color:
Violet/Lavender

Bloom Time:
Late Winter/Early Spring

Foliage:
Grown for foliage
Herbaceous
Variegated
Silver/Gray
Aromatic

Other details:
May be a noxious weed or invasive
Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater

Soil pH requirements:
5.6 to 6.0 (acidic)
6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic)
6.6 to 7.5 (neutral)

Patent Information:
Non-patented

Propagation Methods:
By dividing the rootball
From seed; direct sow outdoors in fall

Seed Collecting:
Bag seedheads to capture ripening seed
Collect seedhead/pod when flowers fade; allow to dry

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