Nettle, commonly known as hops. In ancient times, it was called Maozhi or Nettle. In the Ming Dynasty, Li Shizhen said in Compendium of Materia Medica: "Nettle, nettle sound". Then he said, "nettles are also called hairballs." The word "nettle" is written as "Guo". Du Zimei has a poem about weeding, which is also true.
Where do nettles grow?
Nettle has a strong viability, so it can be found in field paths, grass slopes, ditches, ridges, and even beside roads and houses.
What does a nettle look like?
1, shape
Their appearance is also very easy to distinguish, the color is bright and green, and they are covered with fluff. Studies have shown that the stinging of Urticaceae plants is caused by a kind of fur on the plant body, with a sharp end like a thorn, a cavity in the middle of the upper part and a gland composed of many cells at the base.
The formic acid secreted by the basal gland has a strong stimulating effect on human beings and animals, and this gland fills the cavity at the upper part of the hair end. Once people and animals come into contact, the tips of bristles will break, releasing formic acid, which will stimulate the skin to feel itchy.
When you collect specimens or mow grass in the shade beside a ditch or a house under a forest, you may sometimes feel a sudden stabbing pain, just like being stung by a scorpion, and there are red and swollen spots, which often take some time to subside.
Don't be too nervous at this time. You are probably injured by a plant called scorpion grass, which can be relieved by washing it with soapy water immediately.
Step 2: bristles
The stinging hairs of nettles grow on their stems, leaves and inflorescences, but they are only one or two millimeters long and transparent, although the stinging hairs on stems and petioles are more obvious.
But after all, bristles are very small, and it is often too late to avoid being stung when observing bristles in the wild, so it is still necessary to understand the appearance of nettles themselves.
3. Texture
Urtica are mostly herbaceous plants about one meter high, with slender stems, four edges and many branches, thin leaves and five basic main veins. The part between the veins is slightly convex, and the edge has wide serrations, and the shape changes greatly, from the edge to shallow crack and then to deep crack.
4. flowers
Urtica dioecious, the female inflorescence grows in the upper leaf axil of the plant, and the male inflorescence grows in the lower leaf axil, all of which are loose spikes in shape, with many hairs on the inflorescence axis and sparse bristles hidden in them, waiting for an opportunity to teach greedy herbivores; The fruit is an oblate achene with a convex lens shape.