White Dead Nettle

White Dead Nettle

While children once sucked the sweet nectar from White Dead Nettle flowers, today’s wild food enthusiasts may enjoy the plant in many other ways.

Scientific Name

Lamium album

Family

Lamiaceae.

Botanical Description

Green-white flowers with heart-shaped, hairy, green leaves. The hollow, hairy, square stems distinguish the plant from Stinging Nettle.

Status

Native to Europe and Asia; naturalised in Britain and Ireland and introduced to North America and New Zealand.

Habitat

The plant grows along roadsides, waste places, hedgerows, and gardens.

  • White Dead Nettle distribution map.

Parts Used for Food

Leaves, flowers, stems.

Harvest Time

This perennial flowers from May to December, with seeds ripening from July to December.

Food Uses of White Dead Nettle

The tender leaves and stem tips can be boiled and eaten as a potherb or vegetable, or the leaves chopped and added to omelettes.

The leaves can also be treated like spinach.

Serve the young flowering tops lightly steamed, mixed with spring onions and dressed with butter. For sweet treats or garnish, the flowers can be candied.

Wine is still made from the flowers in Yorkshire, England.

Nutritional Profile

White dead nettle leaves contain about 6.5 g of protein, 76 mg of vitamin C and an incredible 644 vitamin A retinol per 100 g of fresh weight.

The greens are similarly nutritious and contain other constituents such as 76 mg calcium, 34 mg phosphorus, 411 mg potassium, 23 mg magnesium, and 3.4 mg iron per 100 g of fresh plant material.

White Dead Nettle Recipes

Herbal Medicine Uses of White Dead Nettle

White dead nettle has been used as a women’s herb to relieve heavy, painful periods and treat ‘whites’ – leucorrhoea, a white or yellow discharge of vaginal mucous.

White Dead Nettle and Red Dead Nettle (L. purpureum) were mainly used for skin complaints in Irish folk medicine.

White Dead Nettle was a remedy for skin problems and bleeding cuts in parts of England.

A lotion from the flowering tops was applied to piles and varicose veins.

Other Uses

White Dead Nettle flowers are a helpful crop for bees, while Pliny believed the plant discouraged snakes from entering the garden!

Safety Note

The White Dead Nettle is considered a safe plant for food and medicine. There are no known contraindications during pregnancy, breastfeeding, or taking prescribed medications.

This is not absolute proof of its safety, and it is always best to consult with your health advisor.

References

Vickery, R. (1997) A Dictionary of Plant-Lore. Oxford paperback reference. Oxford?; New York: Oxford University Press.

Facciola, S. (1998) Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants. Vista, CA: Kampong Publications.

Bartram, T. (1998) Bartram’s Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine. New York: Marlowe.

Hatfield, G. (2007) Hatfield’s Herbal. London: Allan Lane.

Grieve, M. M. (1998) A Modern Herbal. 3rd edition. London: Tiger Books International, PLC.

Allen, D. E. & Hatfield, G. (2004) Medicinal Plants in Folk Tradition: An Ethnobotany of Britain & Ireland. Portland, OR: Timber Press.

Anon (2016) Herbalpedia.

Duke, J. A. (2002) Handbook of Medicinal Herbs. 2 edition. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

White Dead Nettle Frittata

White Dead Nettle (Lamium album) is at its best at the moment down here in Devon. It has a wonderful scented flavour and is less ‘hairy’ than Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) when cooked.

I had some left over roast potatoes, so the other day I whipped up this Frittata recipe. I’m not usually a fan of heavy food like this, but for a quick lunch it turned out perfect. The White Dead Nettle adds great texture and colour.

White Dead Nettle Recipe Ingredients

  • 4 eggs beaten
  • 2 large handfuls of White Dead Nettle tops
  • 4 left over roast potatoes
  • Grated cheese

White Dead Nettle Recipe Instructions

  1. Chop and fry the White Dead Nettle tops to soften them up.
  2. Add diced roasted potatoes and heat through.
  3. Pour beaten eggs into the pan, and add grated cheese.
  4. Cook until done which depends on whether you like your eggs slightly gooey or rock solid.

Serves: 2

White Dead Nettle, Feta & Watermelon Salad

This White Dead Nettle recipe (Lamium album) makes a refreshing change to the usual run-of-the-mill greens you pick up in your local grocery store. Don’t worry about getting stung because White Dead Nettle won’t sting you at all.

White Dead Nettle Recipe Ingredients

  • 1 handful of white dead nettle leaves
  • 1 small red onion (or half a larger one)
  • 1 lime
  • 2-3 good slices of ripe watermelon
  • 100g feta cheese
  • handful of fresh flat leaf parsley
  • 3-4 tbsp good olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp sumac (optional – but does offer a lemon kick and a pretty dark red sprinkle)
  • a few black olives
  • black pepper

White Dead Nettle Recipe Instructions

  1. Gather the White Dead Nettle leaves together and cut into fine slices. Add to a bowl.
  2. Halve the red onion and cut very fine into half-moon slices. Add to bowl.
  3. Remove the rind and any pips from the watermelon, and cut into easily edible chunks. I usually cut the slices length wise once or twice and then again at right angles.
  4. Loosely crumble the feta and add to the bowl with the other ingredients.
  5. Roughly chop the parsley and add with the oil and olives and then turn gently with your hands.
  6. Add a grinding of black pepper. There is no need for salt as the feta has plenty. Add a light sprinkling of sumac if using.

Serves: 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side dish.