Stingless Nettle, Fen Nettle - Urtica galeopsifolia - rare vegetable - 50 seeds

Stingless Nettle, Fen Nettle - Urtica galeopsifolia - rare vegetable - 50 seeds

An unusual vegetable which can be used especialy in raw state (because the leaves do not burn). Urtica galeopsifolia it is perennial about 2m tall. Its leaves and tops of shoots have not stinging hairs, but lower parts of stems have them (and burn when touched as stinging nettle - U. dioica). This species has also very long and narrow, pubescent leaves - in comparison to wider and shorter leaves of stinging nettle. It is also later in flowers - in mid July (U. dioica in mid June, so one month earlier) and has first inflorescences on 13-22 node since base (U. dioica on 7-14 node). From also not burning other species - Urtica pubescens, it differs by long internodes in top of the shoots. Fen Nettle does not grow on synanthropic sites - it grows only on natural communities - on winter-flooded wet natural thickets, edges of rivers, wet woodlands etc. U. galeopsifolia is diploid. U. dioica is tetraploid and it is probably hybrid of U. galeopsifolia and other nettle species. It is unknown if it is rare species or common one in wild state. It grows in western, central and eastern Europe, the most often on the south of latitude 60' N (so it is very frost hardy). The seeds probably need a cold (8 weeks of cold stratification or sowing in cool place in autumn, winter or maybe early spring) to germination. Sow the seeds surface. Package 50 fresh seeds (harvested in Autumn 2024).