Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Tuesday - September 13, 2011
From: Austin , TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Edible Plants, Herbs/Forbs
Title: Are there edible nettles native to the Austin, TX area?
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
Are there any nettles native to this area? I would like to cook with them (if there is a good substitute, please advise). Thank you.ANSWER:
There are several plants that have the word nettle as part of their name (Horse nettle Solanum carolinense (Carolina horse-nettle) and Bull nettle Cnidoscolus texanus (Texas bullnettle), but you probably wouldn't want to cook with either of these. The true nettles are in the genus Urtica, eg Urtica dioica (Stinging nettle).
This USDA Distribution map shows Urtica dioica occurring in the state of Texas, but does not show its distribution by county, so I really don't know about it's local occurrence.
Since you are interested in cooking, I’m going to suggest Delena Tull’s “Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest” for recipes and other possibilities.
This link to Botanical.com has good information, both botanical and historical about stinging nettles, and this link to wildmanstevebrill.com is very informative about the use of stinging nettles, and has great photographs.
More Edible Plants Questions
Edible plants in northeastern Ohio
February 12, 2009 - I am doing a project and i was wondering what are five native edible plants to the northeastern Ohio region. Also if you could tell the seasons they are available. Thank You,
view the full question and answer
Lists of edible plants in region of Pennsylvania for school project
September 12, 2006 - Please Help! I'm a grade four teacher in Philadelphia. My students and
I are assigned a theme project that involves listing edible plants that
grow in our region. Can you recommend a web site(s)...
view the full question and answer
Dead or Dormant Chile Pequins in Corpus Christi
November 12, 2010 - We have 4 chile pequin and 5 chiltepin plants growing our yard. All were thriving beautifully until we took a 12-day vacation in late July. There was little rain during that time but overall this y...
view the full question and answer
Is 'Hot Lips' salvia edible from Richmond TX
June 23, 2010 - Mr Smarty Plants,
I recently planted "Hot Lips" a form of Salvia Sage in my yard in Richmond Texas (just southwest of Houston). The leaves and flowers smell so great I would like to know if either ...
view the full question and answer
Worms in wild plums
June 03, 2009 - Wild Plums... They are just starting to get ripe here in East Texas. Picked a few today and they all had dark spots on them. When I cut them open there were tiny worms inside. Does this mean they a...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |