Randy Diggs age 10, of Richmond, Va:,

What are stinging nettles?

Not so long ago, Andy spotted a beautiful butterfly. That fellow he said, belongs in my collection so off he chased, waving a net. The butterfly, it seems, had other ideas. He led our friend a merry chase and fluttered into a patch of tall, fuzzy weeds. Andy plunged in after him, too interested in the hunt to notice where he was headed. Later the weeds stung our pixie's brown hands, arms and ankles wherever they touched the skin.

Andy came down with a case of urticaria ‑ which is the fancy name for hives, His sun tanned skin turned red and angry. Itchy, stinging bumps popped up among his handsome freckles. Of course, everybody told him that he had tangled with a patch of stinging nettles. Also, of course, our curious friend had to find out all about them. 

He discovered that the family name of stinging nettles is Urticaceae ‑from the Latin word for nettle. And, yes, the fancy name for hives comes from the same word. True, all hives are not caused by nettles. Some pop up when we eat the wrong food. Some are inflicted by the trailing streamers of certain Jellyfish. Andy did not consider it unfair to call these jellyfish stinging nettles also. Nor did he think it unfair if the word urticaria seemed to blame every case of hives onto stinging nettles. After all, he was still smarting and in no mood to be strickly fair,

This annoyance, however, did not stop his curiosity. He took his magnifying glass and went back to examine those pesty weeds, this time taking care not to touch. He wanted to know how come they sting. It is also wise to learn to recognize them and stay clear in the future. Those stinging nettles were over three feet tail. Wide, toothy‑edged leaves grew in pairs from a central stem. The fuzzy look was caused by fine hairs that bristled all over the leaves and stems.

The stings are caused by these stiff little hairs. Each one is a tube with an extremely fine point. These points pierce the skin when you so much as brush against the nettle* They cling and the tube breaks off at the base; This releases a liquid containing formic acid. It is this acid in the skin which causes the nettle rash.

There are fifteen different stinging nettles native to North America, They look very much alike except in size.. You find them growing in dense patches, for they seem to .enjoy each other's company. Try to have someone point them out; Otherwisei like Andy, you may have to get stung in order to learn to recognize them.  Around Richmond, you may find the tall nettle. A shorter one growls in the southwest and a very bristly, vuhitish stinger grows in the northwest:

As if this weren't bad enough  a couple of nettles emigrated from the O1d World. Their seeds must have sneaked in  perhaps mixed with some grain. For surely no one would be mean enough to import such pests on purpose, Andy learned that some people eat nettles as a vegetable. Young leaves and shoots are gathered naturally with gloves .and boiled, They are said to taste a bit like spinach, Some people harvest nettles; dry them and use the long fibers in the stems to make cord and. paper,