When each male flower capsule becomes ripe, it bursts in the warm sun, releasing a little puff of airborne pollen. Watching for a few minutes, I noticed one of these puffs every thirty seconds or so from each flower-bearing stem. Sadly, I was unable to photograph a pollen-burst — they happen very fast, and in less than a second all the pollen vanishes like smoke into the air.
They may look soft and fuzzy, but the flowers are just as nastily stinging as the leaves and stems! As I mentioned, this nettle plant may be doomed. Because it shares a container with some extremely vigorous sunchokes AKA Jerusalem artichokes , which are basically strangling anything else growing there. Nettle stings really do hurt! As a result of the non-intervention last fall, the sunchoke tubers multiplied at the expense of the nettles, and completely took over the container.
In the picture below, the dense, broad yellow-green leaves belong to the sunchokes, while the last remaining nettle stems are the spindly-looking ones sticking up above the sunchokes.
It seems unlikely the nettle will survive until sunchoke harvest time later this year. In this picture you can also see a small Santa Barbara daisy, also struggling to survive, down in the semi-shade on the right side:. You are commenting using your WordPress. More than erotic, it was a display of profoundly indisputable aliveness.
And I was mesmerized. I was watching the kind of intimacy and potency that I know exists, but that normally stays hidden in realms of ridiculous privilege and breathless rarity. Recently Sarah Thomas of Upper Clarity Stone medicine posted a video on her instagram referring to the Chinese energetics of summer vs spring.
It struck me mightily. In spring, she shared, the energy of every being stretches upwards, like the vine reaching towards the sky. In summer, however, we reach the zenith of that sky stretch and from there our job is simply to e x p a n d.
Straight into the heaven that is here on earth. The nettles were as tall as they would get this season, and fully adorned with flowers. Now, they were expanding outwards, past even their leaf tips, to drift downstream and create new life. I was watching the world expand in its physical form, and it was a rich, hazy, and wholly mysterious dance. May is the month of Taurus, the astrological sign of embodiment, sensuality, physicality and the earthly delights.
It marks a time in the wheel of the year when we are invited to come into the lusciousness of life and fill all the corners of our physical being.
In between the wood of spring and fire of summer, May is a moment to drop soulfully into the soil of our bodies. The body that came here to experience skinny dipping in secret swimming holes. The body that loves food and music and flowers. The body that is naturally creative and regenerative.
This means that stinging nettle could help reduce pain and inflammation in conditions such as arthritis. In a randomized controlled trial RCT from , researchers gave 81 people with OA either a supplement that contained fish oil , vitamin E, and stinging nettle or a placebo. Over a period of 3 months, people who took the supplement reported fewer symptoms and less frequent use of their anti-inflammatory medications than those in the placebo group.
However, there is a need for more recent studies in humans. The results of a mouse study suggested that a herbal gel containing Urtica dioica had pain-relieving and anti-edema effects without irritating the skin. People who use stinging nettles either take capsules or apply a cream that contains stinging nettles to their affected joints. Because of its anti-inflammatory effects, which have let to its current uses in conditions such as arthritis and allergies, researchers hope that stinging nettle could also have uses in other inflammatory conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome.
Stinging nettle is a popular treatment for seasonal allergies. Scientists are not yet sure how it has this effect, though some suggest it is because the nettle can reduce allergy-related inflammation in the body. Seasonal allergies occur when a substance such as pollen triggers the body to produce histamine. Histamine is what causes the characteristic symptoms of allergies, such as inflammation, itching, and hives.
However, in an RCT from , researchers found that stinging nettle extract and a placebo pill both reduced symptom severity. The authors concluded that more research is needed. The NCCIH also report that other home remedies for allergies, such as capsaicin, quercetin, spirulina, and French maritime pine bark extract, do not have enough solid evidence behind them to prove their effectiveness.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia BPH is a noncancerous growth of the prostate gland in men. The condition can cause a range of symptoms, mostly involving urinary processes. Stinging nettle may help slow the growth of the prostate in people with BPH by affecting hormone levels or interacting with cells in the prostate. Some studies have found that stinging nettle can reduce the symptoms of BPH.
For example, in one RCT from , researchers gave people either stinging nettles or a placebo for 8 weeks. They found a significant reduction in symptoms for people taking stinging nettles but not those taking the placebo.
However, there is not currently enough research in humans to determine whether stinging nettle can help treat the symptoms of BPH. That said, future studies may uncover other ways to use it. A person should see a doctor if they suspect prostate problems, so the doctor can rule out or treat any serious issues.
There is some early evidence to suggest that stinging nettle could also help with the treatment of diabetes. However, much of this research is limited to animals.
In another RCT from , people with type 2 diabetes took milligram mg capsules of stinging nettle extract or a placebo every 8 hours along with their usual treatment. After 3 months, the stinging nettle extract had a positive effect on blood glucose levels. Other studies have had similar results.
These findings are promising, but researchers need to conduct more studies in humans to determine whether stinging nettle could be a useful addition to traditional diabetes treatments.
Stinging nettle grows throughout the U. It grows in damp soil, such as near lakes or in open forests. It can also grow at roadsides or in fields. When foraging for the plant, make sure to correctly identify it to be sure it is stinging nettle and not a similar-looking plant.
A person can usually tell by looking at its leaf shape and structure. People can also purchase stinging nettle products that use the stems, leaves, and roots of the plant in health food stores and online.
0コメント