Hesperocnide tenella
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| Hesperocnide tenella (Torr.) |
Hesperocnide tenella, also known as western nettle, is native to California and northern Baja California. It grows in chaparral, oak woodland, and coastal sage scrub communities up to 1000 m elevation.
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[edit] Physical Description
Hesperocnide tenella is an annual plant with slender erect stems that do not exceed 5 dm. Like many other nettles, it has stinging hairs that contain formic acid. These hairs are hooked much like the hook part of velcro, and they get caught in the skin and can become very irritating depending on how sensitive the individual is to formic acid. The leaves are ovate, somewhat thin, and opposite in arrangement; the leaves are toothed along the sides, so they appear heavily serrated. The inflorescences are round and head-like; they contain both pistillate and staminate flowers. The pistillate flowers have 2–4 sepals that are equal and fused to almost the tip, and one ovary. The staminate flowers have 4 sepals and 4 stamens. The flowers measure 1–1.5 mm long. The fruit produced by the flowers are lenticular achenes and are enclosed by the calyx.
[edit] Other Information
There are two species in this genus; the one described is native to California, another (Hesperocnide sandwicensis) to Hawaii.
[edit] Uses
The young leaves of this plant can be used to make a tea. This plant has also been used as a diuretic, an anti-inflammatory, a conditioner for the scalp, an alkalizer, and it has also been used for stress reduction.
Young leaves are high in chlorophyll, minerals, and protein. Although it is very healthy to eat, the stinging hairs tend to drive away potential herbivores.
These plants can also be used in organic waste treatment and detoxification systems. The nettle can filter out waste, heavy metals, and unwanted minerals in water supplies. These toxic materials can then be gathered from the plant after it has died.
