Monday, February 23, 2009

Beware of the Stinging Nettle


Y'all ever heard of these things? I think it's something I may have heard of but didn't really know what they were. They're plants. They look like mint and they grow like mint - taking over and recreating wherever they are. Except the major difference is that they have tiny little thorns all over them that appear as "texture". These thorns immediately release some strange chemical into your fingers. We went hiking today and kept seeing these along the path and I was curious.. is it mint? (the ones we saw were much prettier than the picture) So I went to pluck a leaf and immediately pulled back my hand! It BIT ME! Weird thing is there were no thorns actually stuck in my fingers. It just felt like it. I thought it would go away after a few hours and the sensation has changed, but not diminished much. It feels like the ends of my left finger and thumb are asleep. When something touches them I get that strange waking-up-pins-and-needles sensation. Anyway. I just thought I would share so that you can avoid them too. It's not nice.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, that is crazy. See this is why I stay indoors. No crazy sticky sleepy plants inside :)

none said...

You poor thing! I'd never heard of that, but I'll definitely watch out! I wonder if we have those things in MI!!!! :/ I hope your fingers feel better.

Anonymous said...

Are you into herbal or traditional medicine? Nepali traditional cure for brushes with the stinging nettle: snot (and not necessarily your own).

No lie.