EatTheWeeds: Episode 21: Spurge Nettle

[HarperDearMilo]

public edible # 1! that's awesome :)

[TheCanelisa]

HOw can I get rid of this plant in my back yard? It is really hurting my children and dog. Any information would be appreciated. thanks

E Keith.

[rbvmtr]

I have jewelweed which counteracts the nettle's itch ,as well as poison Ivy,oak, I have plenty to eat , well untill they dose it all down because of all the hoenysuckle and mustard garlic 

[EatTheWeeds]

@rbvmtr It must be to the individual because jewelweed does nothing for me. Incidentally, spurge nettle (a cnidoscolus) is far different that the common nettle which is an urtica

[rbvmtr]

@EatTheWeeds I found 2 different nettles one grows on the White River and the other grows on Fall Creek which is sandy . finding things by accident sometimes smarts abit ;-P. did you rub the plant on infected area or did you squeese the liquid out and applied it ? Can wild plants be transplanted to other area's ?

[SnumberF]

i live in East Texas at the moment, I am taking a Plant Taxonomy class at the moment and have to collect plant specimens. I picked the C.texanus and was observing the trichomes on the stem, as well as the vestiture on the leaves. I was stung by them, and wanted to see if you know any know reactions that will be particularly harmful to humans. it affected my sleep i believe and there is minor swelling around the piercing area.

[b1gje55e]

Question: Are spurge nettle and Texas bull nettle the same? Edible roots?

[EatTheWeeds]

Technically, no, not the same plant. One is C. stimulosus and the other C. texanus. The root of the first is known edible, the seeds of the second are known edible. The reverse is not known but I know a PhD who is working on it. Some research in the 50s found nothing bad in any quantity in the root of the C. texanus and they recommended its possible uses be explored. That's a good sign but to date the answer is I do not know.

[Snowwarrior]

this video was a big help on identification! thank you

[EatTheWeeds]

Good. What area of the country do you live in, east or west of the Mississippi?

[Snowwarrior]

I love in new england, so i guess east :)

[EatTheWeeds]

That was what I needed to know. The spurge nettle does not grow in New England. Can't take the cold. Won't find it much farther north than Virginia. You might have the common nettle, Urtica. Urtica does not have an edible root.

[zaporah55]

How long do you boil the root?

[zaporah55]

I just absolutely love your videos...So the other spurge nettle (cousin to this one) that you mention on your site. Does it grow in FL? Is the root also edible? How can I tell which one I have growing all over my yard? Thank you for sharing all of your amazing knowledge.

[EatTheWeeds]

I boil the root for 20 minutes. As for which plant... if you live east of the Mississippi it is probably the C. stimulosus, if west of the Mississippi, the C. Texanas. If in Louisiana you have both. The easiest visual difference is the C. texanus leaf is more crinkled in the middle of its leaf lobes than the C. stimulosus whose leaves tend to have flat leaf lobes (or fingers.) I suspect the C. texanus root is edible but... I'm not there and I can find no source to say to...

[EatTheWeeds]

Glad to hear it. The inner thread is edible, just tough. I like the taste of them. Enjoy.

[NewPuritan07]

These are everywhere in the Jacksonville area! When I was a kid we used to call these things fireplants, for obvious reasons. My friend and I tried its root the other day (inner thread and all). Quite tasty I must say.

[ratmanrod]

i think you can make rope with this plant too.

[EatTheWeeds]

This is why one has to ignore the common name. The common nettle, Urtica, a totally different plant altogether, and is used for cordage. This plant, while called a nettle, is of a completely different family (cnedoscolus) and not used for cordage. DON'T touch this plant, it stings far more than the Urtica and is NOT edible above the ground. Urtica is edible above ground.

[scrumptiousvittles]

When you say "rice" it, do you mean "put it in rice" or am I missing something?

Thanks for all the videos. They are excellent.

[EatTheWeeds]

"Rice it" means you can put it through the kitchen utensil called a "ricer." A ricer is usually used on potatoes, but the spurge nettle can be riced too once you remove the inner thread. Personally, I just chop it up, add salt, pepper and butter and down it goes. By the way sometimes the thread can be pulled out from one end. The thread is not toxic or anything like that but it is amazingly tough.

[NullSpacio]

I love what you are doing. Thankyou for sharing.

[EatTheWeeds]

Thanks, and I'm sorry it took me so long to answer you. I just noticed the comment.

[EatTheWeeds]

Go to my website which has the same name and you can read about the plants in the archives. As for the sound quality, I am stuck with it, so my apologies.

[ncyonder]

Ahhhh I want so much to like these videos but the low audio quality is making it hard to understand what you're saying (hearing impaired). :(

[yardsnacker]

amazing, magnifique! Keep going Green Deane!

[EatTheWeeds]

Thanks, I had fun with it.

[OliverWhitecat]

The roots look small.

[EatTheWeeds]

It was on the small size. The top of the plant is not a good indication of the size of the root. They usually are about the size of a large carrot but rounder, and often have side roots as well.

[godoter]

make a video requesting help or mention it on the site, it's easy & quick for techies to make a slick well functioning system easily updatable by you. meanwhile there's no hurry & it has it's charm. i'll pray to a few Tibetan buddhas for your site :D meanwhile just enjoy your path man.

[EatTheWeeds]

Well, the problem is it is organized as a blog site via MAC, that's why I use dates to organize the archives. I would like to make it a more interactive site but that is beyond my computer knowledge. Photos are the key, not only to a website but a book as well.

[godoter]

On the website. It will make noobs like me easier to train. Firstly there are many on the google/other search engines' image sections. But it needs an expert to OKay them.

Secondly it can be sent it via folks.

The site needs a logical menu at top for different sections. hopefully with a forum for people to contribute and subsections like recipes/seasonal hot picks/reports etc. But these things need to grow slowly and organically and there is no rush.

[godoter]

I see your site expanding into covering many sub-areas & other continents as people get into it within a few years. It's a winner whose time will come. From hikers to green activists to alternative farmers etc. A good image section is vital to get people trained though. Keep going dude.

[EatTheWeeds]

Thanks. When you say better pictures, do you mean here on You Tube or on my website?

[godoter]

We need more high quality pics in the website sepcially if something changes through seasons/locales.

I recently discovered this channel and am ignorant on the subject & hoping to change that.

This channel is indeed mighty cool. *****

[dnHooligan]

I love this channel. Thanks, man.

[EatTheWeeds]

Your welcome. I had fun doing the video.

[dnHooligan]

I could tell. It was very enjoyable.