Urtica, demonised and divine plant
From fertilizer to medicinal gastronomy, nettle has qualities that merge medicine with functional food. In Germany, Mechtilde Frintrup wants to showcase these benefits through books, meditative walks and handmade textiles
Nettle is among the most underrated species in the botanical world, a disdain that stems from fear of pain, but also from suspicion of a species perceived as invasive. In any case, until a few hundred years ago, nettle did have a herbal reputation and popular oral treatises on medicine, textiles and magic. Some of this memory was preserved and passed on thanks to the existence of treatises such as those of the abbess Hildegard of Bingen, who attributed medicinal properties to nettle and recommended making wholemeal bread enriched with its leaves and seeds, or Rudolf Steiner's Agricultural Course (1924), the foundational work of biodynamic agriculture.
In the German-speaking world, if there is anyone who has condensed the nutritional, symbolic and medicinal dimension of nettle into text and image, it is Mechtilde Frintrup. In The Book of the Nettle (Das Brennnessel Buch), the author explores Germanic legends, textile uses, Eastern myths and the world of symbols associated with this species that provides food and medicine without requiring much care. Leaves, stems, seeds, roots and flowers: all provide us with vitamins, minerals, proteins, fibre (for food and clothing), fertilizer and fertility.
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. Although nettle nowadays seems to be nothing more than a weed that disturbs the decorum of any respectable urban landscape (a symbol of order and civilization), it is gradually regaining the reputation it had thousands of years ago thanks to the rediscovery of its health benefits and the attachment to a symbolism that suggests firmness, resistance, impetus and regeneration.
Linking Worlds through Nettles
In 2021, when I detected pockets of wild nettle in the fig valley, I started an exchange of emails with Frintrup, who was kind enough to send me a copy of her book, which was a helpful guide to understanding the essence of urtica: its membership of the urticaceae family, the physiology of its beautiful stingers -composed of serotonin, histamine and acetylcholine-, its contributions to hair health and its benefits for the immune system.
But that is only the physical dimension of a plant that is also culturally rich, whether as a pictorial motif suggesting fiery passion or anarchy, or through its appearances in some of the Grimm Brothers fairy tales. The classification of nettle as an almost demonic species at the beginning of modern times –reinforced by the persecution of witches in Europe and its prohibition as an ingredient for beer– even reached into the third millennium. In 2006 the French government gave in to pressure from the agrochemical lobby and banned nettle slurry as unsafe, a ban that was lifted after five years to the happiness of thousands of organic gardeners.
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Urtica Dioica at Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. // Nettle in a backyard, Tarariras, Uruguay. // Nettle is an important bio-input in the Centro Agroecológico y Biodinámico in Rosario, Argentina.
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The six biodynamic compost preparations –yarrow, chamomile, stinging nettle, oak, dandelion and valerian. / Nettle slurry in an educational garden in Soriano, Uruguay.
This gardening tradition is in good health in Rosario, Argentina, where policy for promoting urban gardens has successfully integrated nettle as a bio-input as part of its strategy to shape the city with agro-ecological gardens. Urtica dioica –the stinging nettle– promotes vegetative growth and regulates the incidence of disease, as well as nourishing the soil and giving life to one of the six biodynamic compost preparations. Antonio Lattuca, one of the pioneers of urban agriculture in this city located on the banks of the Paraná River, is strongly promoting the formation of vegetable gardens that recognise the value of urtica.
In some parts of Peru, the stinging leaves of the small nettle –urtica urens– are placed on the skin to soothe muscular and nervous ailments. In Europe, where stinging nettle is more common, urtifications are carried out for similar purposes, including as a traditional treatment for arthritis of the hands. While some perceive the contact as a jolt that mobilises energy and awakens the senses, others may feel discomfort for several days in the treated area. Fortunately, there are several wild plants capable of relieving the burning caused by urtica –cold pressing plantain, milk curd or sorrel are very effective–.
Mechtilde Frintrup in Bürgstall during a meditative walk.
The urtification is produced by the presence of histamine, acetylcysteine, serotonin and sodium formate in nettle's defensive hair. 100 nanograms are enough to unleash the well-known burning.
Wild stinging nettle in Burgstall, Germany.
The Nettles of Burgstall
In 2024 I visited Frintrup in Burgstall, a village in southern Germany where she organises walking tours to recognize and appreciate the wealth of wild herbs that often go unnoticed in her locality. “I always say that the medicinal uses of nettle are effective and varied, the compost it gives us is valued by gardeners and its culinary versatility is well suited to the habits of city dwellers,’ says the writer, who believes that the medicinal status of urtica has been maintained, especially in Eastern Europe.
The meditative walk activates mindfulness, stimulates creativity and marks a reconnection with the direct environment. “When I am surrounded by nature and handle the materials it gives me, I feel more attentive and sensitive,” admits the artist, who makes garments from the fibre as well as paper. “Wild herbs signify independence and origin, and in the case of nettle, it feeds humans, animals and plants (as fertilizer). Even the procurement of textile fibre is not difficult, children understand the meaning of a wild species that feeds and provides clothing”.
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Nettle paper made by M. Frintrup // Nettle fiber for making textiles // “The nettle book” on an old fig tree in Siguas, Perú.
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Papel de ortiga elaborado por Frintrup. // Fibra de ortiga para elaborar textiles. // "El libro de la ortiga" sobre una higuera antigua.
The hills surrounding Burgstall are made up of nettle, yarrow, dandelion, plantain, mugwort, meadowsweet, valerian and hundreds of other species that grow in meadows, banks and woods and mark the herbal memory of southern Germany. Before leaving the village, Frintrup was kind enough to show me the biodiversity that accompanies every morning walk in this medicinal and wild enclave, a tour that culminated in the harvesting of some nettle shoots and the gift of objects such as threads, looms, paper and dried nettle stalks to extract fibre.
Food with history
Frintrup has been able to collect recipes such as sea salt mixed with pulverized nettle seeds, wholemeal cakes filled with crushed nettle leaves, vegetable stews and pesto-style sauces. A whole range of culinary versatility thanks to a species that multiplies in just a few months. In Lima, Peru, fig bread with dried nettle has been well received by people looking for an iron-rich food. Even baking wholemeal bread with nettle extract shows that baking and confectionery can benefit from the vitality of a wild herb.
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Gastronomy and nettle: Dried fig cake with nettle leaves / Whole wheat tapas with anchovies and nettle pesto / Whole wheat spätzle with nettle / Whole wheat bread with nettle.
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Ortiga y culinaria. 1) Pan de higo con hojas de ortiga seca. 3) Spätzle de trigo integral con extracto de ortiga. 4) Pan integral con hojas de ortiga. Seca, cocinada o aplanada pierde su carácter urticante y puede consumirse sin problemas.
A simple, historical and nutritious snack consists of anchovies marinated the Mediterranean way (with vinegar and olive oil), dried figs, some wholemeal bread and dried nettle sprinkled or made into a kind of chimichurri. Another simple use is to make a smoothie with lemon, ginger and tender nettle leaves (urens or dioica). If you have the patience, you can make dried fig syrup –a decoction that takes six hours over low heat– and, near the end, add a small bunch of nettle.
Frintrup's work is complemented on her own website by entries on seminars, meditation in nature, and art (especially illustrations) depicting the subtle energy that nettle possesses. Although only the German edition is still available, the scope of this work deserves an early translation, which would be a welcome achievement for those who profess affection and respect for the hardy nettle.
