Purple Dead Nettle: An Edible and Medicinal Weed

Purple Dead Nettle: An Edible and Medicinal Weed

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Did you know that purple dead nettle is edible? I love talking about edible and medicinal weeds that I’ve probably stepped over 100 times and never knew. Who doesn’t love free food and medicine? Somehow it has come up in conversation with me quite a few times in the past week. I’m sure you’re thinking “wow how exciting,” but stay with me.

I belong to a few foraging and herbal groups, so I’ve seen it everywhere online. My sister, who lives halfway across the country was complaining about not being able to mow some purple weed she had in her yard. I just jokingly guessed that it was purple deadnettle so she sent me a picture. I was right!

This past weekend we were visiting family and they have an awesome backyard. It’s a steep little hill and a natural landscape that leads down to a river and it’s perfect for foraging. Well, I found tons of deadnettle and wild violet there. I had to bring some home because of course I did.

By the way, I don’t suggest randomly foraging in someone’s backyard but for one, they’re used to my weirdness, and two I knew they wouldn’t care. I did ask though.

As a general rule, you don’t want to forage where there might be herbicides or pesticides. Also, don’t take things from the side of a busy road unless you like polluted food.

Car exhaust leaves all sorts of unwanted things including heavy metals that these plants tend to suck up.

What is Purple Dead Nettle?

Or is it deadnettle? I see it written both ways and I gave up finding a clear answer after a 20-second search because I’m impatient. Well for starters, it’s a weed in the mint family that some would consider invasive. Its proper name is Lamium purpureum and it’s a winter annual which generally blooms in April before dying off in the warmest months.

It tends to grow in lawns or fields and gets around 4-8″ tall. It has tiny little light purple flowers and I think it’s quite cute. I was surprised to see so many google searches on how to get rid of it. Why? For some reason we tend to have a weird obsession with having perfect green grass lawns free of any weeds, but is it really that bad to have it speckled with little purple and pink cartoon flowers?

A few years ago I bought a pot of deadnettle at the garden center that I planned to use as a groundcover but never ended up planting. At the time I had no idea what it was. I just found that pot the other day doing yard clean up and it keeps coming back from reseeding itself. Previously I thought it was a perennial. I didn’t know that purple dead nettle was edible at the time either.

This is a good plant for beginner foraging. It’s fairly easy to identify although henbit is a look-alike. Henbit is edible though and has its benefits too. I think they are easy to tell apart by the leaves. Deadnettle doesn’t have any poisonous lookalikes as far as I know but I’m not an expert.

I’m going to repeat that phrase a lot on this site even when I am 99.99999999% sure. What may seem obvious to me, may not for you, and vice versa. A healthy amount of doubt and paranoia will keep you alive! Again though, this is a pretty easy plant for beginners to identify. I suggest checking out some regional field guides from the library when starting.

Why Use Purple Dead Nettle?

Well now that we know purple dead nettle is edible, why should we eat it? As far as medicinal properties it is best known as a natural antihistamine and anti-inflammatory. It’s also antimicrobial and a great source of vitamins, minerals, and quercetin which is an immune system booster. I’m using it to help with spring allergies.

You can eat it raw or cooked the same way you would any other green. Throw it in some soup as a garnish. You can make tea with it, oil infusions, tinctures, etc.

It is somewhat bitter like dandelion greens but that can be a good thing if you pair it right. I don’t find it nearly as bitter though.

I’m currently making a tincture with the fresh pile I gathered over the weekend. I’m going to look for more so I can dry and keep some on hand for tea or to make a glycerite for the kids to use. A glycerite is basically a tincture made with vegetable glycerin instead of alcohol. I just made a huge batch of iced tea blended with other herbs.

Last Thoughts

I made a tincture first because it is shelf stable and lasts a very long time, but I really want to incorporate things I find into food. Maybe some purple deadnettle pesto?

So that’s all I can think of to say about it for now. This was my first little bit on the blog about wildcrafting. We’ll see what else I can find this week. The weather is perfect for it right now!

Not into foraging but still interested in the plant? You can purchase other beneficial nettle varieties in capsules, tinctures, or dried to make your own recipes.

Update

It’s March 2023 and the ground is covered with snow at the moment, but if you live further south you may already be able to find some. I just wanted to update you a bit on my experience since writing this. I have used my homemade dead nettle tincture for seasonal allergies and I’m finding it very effective for symptoms. Learn how to make your own tincture at home in this post.

I scattered some seeds around my property last summer and was excited to see some baby seedlings in the late fall. I’m hoping to have a crop in the spring. I’ll update you with some new pictures when the time comes!

I’ll also be following up with all sorts of edible and medicinal plant recipes, so stay tuned and follow me on socials for updates.