How to Make Purple Dead Nettle Salve (3 recipes!) (2024)

FAQs

How to Make Purple Dead Nettle Salve (3 recipes!)? ›

Tea. Add 3 Tablespoons dried leaves for every 8 ounces (1 cup) of not quite boiling water. Allow to steep for 5-8 minutes, then strain and sweeten to taste.

Tea. Add 3 Tablespoons dried leaves for every 8 ounces (1 cup) of not quite boiling water. Allow to steep for 5-8 minutes, then strain and sweeten to taste.

Colleen at GrowForageCookFerment says, “Use fresh dead nettle along with chickweed, dandelion greens, and other “weeds” to make a wild greens pesto. Purple deadnettle can also be added to soups, salads, or blended into smoothies. Basically any way that you would use any other green leafy vegetable or herb.”

Medicinal Uses

It's also anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial. Fresh leaves can be applied to wounds as a poultice. You can also enjoy fresh or dry leaves as a tea.

The leaves and flowers can be eaten sparingly in salads or as a garnish, or cooked in soups, stir-fries etc. It's quite pubescent (obtusely worded for hairy) so I like to mix it with other greens or cook it to mask its texture.

The leaves are edible, with the purple tops being even a little sweet. Since the leaves are relatively fuzzy, they are better used as an herb garnish or mixed with other greens in recipes, rather than being the star of the show.

- 1 cup dried arnica flowers - 3 cups extra-virgin olive base oil - 2,000 IU vitamin E oil - 3-4 tablespoons beeswax (use the larger amount if you want a firmer salve) Equipment Needed: 2-quart saucepan or double boiler, stirring utensil, candy or yogurt thermometer, strainer, fine filter, funnel, glass or plastic ...

At this point, it's best to think of stinging nettles in a similar fashion to spinach in terms of cooking the leaves. Quickly blanching them in a pot of boiling water will deaden the sting.

Stinging nettle has been used for hundreds of years to treat painful muscles and joints, eczema, arthritis, gout, and anemia. Today, many people use it to treat urinary problems during the early stages of an enlarged prostate (called benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH).

But be careful to monitor its consumption because in large quantities it can have a laxative effect . Most plants are not readily available during all seasons so one way we can utilize purple dead nettle all year is by dehydrating its leaves and flowers .

Is purple dead nettle poisonous? ›

Is dead-nettle edible or poisonous? Dead-nettle can be grown in the garden without hesitation, as all parts of the plant are non-toxic. This edible wild herb is also popular in the kitchen as well as in natural medicine.

Life Cycle: Winter annual. Primarily emerges in the fall, flowering and seed set begins in early spring. Plants die with hot, dry weather in late-May and June.

While often mistaken for stinging nettle, purple dead nettle lacks the stinging hairs associated with its counterpart. This flowering plant thrives in cool, damp environments, and its vibrant purple flowers make it visually striking.

Another plant in the mint family that looks similar to henbit and purple dead- nettle is creeping Charlie (also known as ground ivy). Because it is a mint, it has the characteristic square stems, but under close inspection, it is easily distinguish- able from henbit and purple deadnettle.

Deadnettles have smoother leaves and a green stem (white arrow). Stinging nettles leaves (red arrow) have a slightly furry appearance due to the stings.

Cultural control: Purple deadnettle mainly occurs in soils that are disturbed during the fall when it germinates. If you only have a few purple deadnettle plants, you can usually pull them by hand. Biological control: Some organic herbicides are available.

But be careful to monitor its consumption because in large quantities it can have a laxative effect . Most plants are not readily available during all seasons so one way we can utilize purple dead nettle all year is by dehydrating its leaves and flowers .

Purple deadnettle is styptic meaning that it stops bleeding when applied to a wound. To use it to stop bleeding, simply pinch off the stem. Rub the leaves between your fingers, or your palms, to release the juices. Then apply the leaves directly to the cut and hold until the bleeding stops.

To preserve nettle leaves for tea or seasoning, gather on a dry day and choose plants that are clean since you will not be rinsing them (wet plants do not generally dry well).