Spring Nettle and Cleaver Tincture
Hooray! The darkest days of the year are behind us as we emerge out of our winter hibernation.. our deep, delicious rest that we (hopefully) allowed ourselves to experience along with the rest of the natural world..
As we begin to venture into our surroundings a little more, we start to notice that the plant world, which also went very quiet, is returning to us with a cheerful vibrancy in the form of spring GREENS.
From February on, in Ireland and the northern hemisphere, the first native medicinal plants that emerge from their dormancy are stinging nettles, cleavers (stickleback, goosegrass, sticky willy, Velcro plant) and narrow leaf plantain. Combined, these three plants provide our human bodies with the vitamins, minerals and lymphatic cleansing that is so essential after a winter of lower activity and heavy food and drink. The best way to consume these is fresh as a daily simple infusion (recipe below) or for extra potency in a medicinal tincture from the dried plants.
Stinging Nettle (urtica dioica)
The most ubiquitous of roadside, hedgerow and garden ‘weeds’, nettles are one of the most underrated and highly medicinal plants in our surroundings. There are few places where nettles do not grow, and as such they have been an essential source of nutrition and medicine for the human race for thousands of years. All parts of the nettle plant are edible, but we will focus here on the leaves (spring) and seeds (late summer):
1. Nettle leaves
From late February, nettle leaves are at their most nutritious and vibrant. They are covered with fine hairs which contain formic acid which can give quite the sting so best harvested with gloves or with a strong confident grasp!
Nettle leaves are full of chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals and a good source of protein, and truly deserve the somewhat overused term ‘superfood’. They stimulate liver, kidney and urinary tract health and can be used to treat allergies and systemic inflammation, making them an extremely safe and important tonic herb.
Once the leaves begin to get more pointy towards the end of May, it is best to leave them and wait for their highly nutritious seeds to nourish us further.
2. Nettle seeds
Nettles are separated into male and female plants (thus the dioica part of the Latin name, meaning two houses) and both produce flowers. Only the female plants produce seeds however, and are easy to identify as summer moves along, and the nettle seeds form like hanging bunches of tiny grapes. The seeds of nettle contain essential fatty acids Omega 3 oils and support kidney and adrenal function and as adaptogens they help the body deal with stress and burn out. They are also highly anti-inflammatory and may help with inflamed joints such as from osteo/rheumatoid arthritis (Laura has a nettle seed and rosemary salve on the Nature Collective website for exactly this).
3. Cleavers
Someone once introduced cleavers to me as little pipe cleaners, and it has stuck with me ever since.. With their square-shaped stem and sticky hairs, they cling to anything that touches them (their round seeds also do this in late summer!) and this has earned them the name of Velcro plant or stickleback here in Ireland. The plant forms leaves of eight into spirals, or whorls, and sweetest of tiny white flowers.
When I speak of pipe cleaners however, it is not just visually but how they operate in the body. Cleavers are a powerful diuretic, toning the kidneys and thus increasing flow of urine and clearing stagnation from the body. They are an unparalleled spring green for lymphatic stimulation - exactly what we need as we transition from sluggish winter into a brighter season. These little pipe cleaners help increase the flow of lymph thus cleansing the blood and aiding in detoxification. And did I mention they are everywhere??
Cleavers are best consumed fresh, in an overnight cold water infusion - see recipe below for a daily tonic to build vitality through the season:
Nettle and cleavers cold infusion
● Handful of cleavers
● Handful of nettle leaves
● Any other spring greens eg. dandelion, young plantain leaves
● Strips of cucumber and half a lemon
Rinse the greens and place in a large jug/bottle with cucumber and lemon (optional). Fill with 1-2 litres of cold water. Leave in fridge overnight, strain in the morning and drink throughout the day.
Spring greens tincture
Ingredients:
● 30g dried/fresh greens - nettles, plantain, dandelion and cleavers
● 50ml clear alcohol 40% or above, eg vodka
Add greens to a jar. Add vodka to 1cm below the lid of the jar. Label and shake once each day. Leave
to infuse in a dark place for 3-4 weeks.
Strain your plant material and add to your compost bin. Pour the remaining liquid into amber bottle provided, label and take 1⁄2 dropper full daily for a revitalising lymphatic cleanse.
With love and joy til the next season,
Erin and Laura x